Abjani Farhat, Khan Naveed Ahmed, Yousuf Farzana Abubakar, Siddiqui Ruqaiyyah
Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Aga Khan University, Pakistan.
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Sunway University, Malaysia.
Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2016 Jun;39(3):239-43. doi: 10.1016/j.clae.2015.11.004. Epub 2015 Dec 7.
Acanthamoeba cysts are highly resistant to contact lens disinfecting solutions. Acanthamoeba cyst wall is partially made of 1,4 β-glucan (i.e., cellulose) and other complex polysaccharides making it a hardy shell that protects the resident amoeba. Here, we hypothesize that targeting the cyst wall structure in addition to antiamoebic compound would improve the efficacy of marketed contact lens disinfecting solutions. Using chlorhexidine as an antiamoebic compound and cellulase enzyme to disrupt cyst wall structure, the findings revealed that combination of both agents abolished viability of Acanthamoeba castellanii cysts and trophozoites. When tested alone, none of the agents nor contact lens disinfecting solutions completely destroyed A. castellanii cysts and trophozoites. The absence of cyst wall-degrading enzymes in marketed contact lens disinfecting solutions render them ineffective against Acanthamoeba cysts. It is concluded that the addition of cyst wall degrading molecules in contact lens disinfecting solutions will enhance their efficacy in decreasing the incidence of Acanthamoeba effectively.
棘阿米巴包囊对隐形眼镜消毒溶液具有高度抗性。棘阿米巴包囊壁部分由1,4-β-葡聚糖（即纤维素）和其他复合多糖构成，使其成为保护寄生变形虫的坚固外壳。在此，我们假设除抗阿米巴化合物外，靶向包囊壁结构会提高市售隐形眼镜消毒溶液的功效。使用洗必泰作为抗阿米巴化合物，并使用纤维素酶破坏包囊壁结构，研究结果显示两种药剂的组合消除了卡氏棘阿米巴包囊和滋养体的活力。单独测试时，任何一种药剂或隐形眼镜消毒溶液都不能完全破坏卡氏棘阿米巴包囊和滋养体。市售隐形眼镜消毒溶液中缺乏包囊壁降解酶，使其对棘阿米巴包囊无效。得出的结论是，在隐形眼镜消毒溶液中添加包囊壁降解分子将有效提高其降低棘阿米巴发病率的功效。
