Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Subang Jaya, 47500, Selangor, Malaysia.
International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, H. E. J. Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan.
Parasitol Res. 2024 Jan 31;123(2):117. doi: 10.1007/s00436-024-08131-2.
The free living Acanthamoeba spp. are ubiquitous amoebae associated with potentially blinding disease known as Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) and a fatal central nervous system infection granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE). With the inherent ability of cellular differentiation, it can phenotypically transform to a dormant cyst form from an active trophozoite form. Acanthamoeba cysts are highly resistant to therapeutic agents as well as contact lens cleaning solutions. One way to tackle drug resistance against Acanthamoeba is by inhibiting the formation of cysts from trophozoites. The biochemical analysis showed that the major component of Acanthamoeba cyst wall is composed of carbohydrate moieties such as galactose and glucose. The disaccharide of galactose and glucose is lactose. In this study, we analyzed the potential of lactase enzyme to target carbohydrate moieties of cyst walls. Amoebicidal assessment showed that lactase was ineffective against trophozoite of A. castellanii but enhanced amoebicidal effects of chlorhexidine. The lactase enzyme did not show any toxicity against normal human keratinocyte cells (HaCaT) at the tested range. Hence, lactase can be used for further assessment for development of potential therapeutic agents in the management of Acanthamoeba infection as well as formulation of effective contact lens disinfectants.
自由生活的棘阿米巴属无处不在，与一种潜在致盲疾病有关，称为棘阿米巴角膜炎（AK）和致命的中枢神经系统感染性肉芽肿性阿米巴脑炎（GAE）。具有细胞分化的固有能力，它可以从活跃的滋养体形式表型转化为休眠的囊泡形式。棘阿米巴囊泡对治疗剂以及隐形眼镜清洁溶液具有高度抗性。解决棘阿米巴抗药性的一种方法是抑制从滋养体形成囊泡。生化分析表明，棘阿米巴囊泡壁的主要成分由碳水化合物部分组成，如半乳糖和葡萄糖。半乳糖和葡萄糖的二糖是乳糖。在这项研究中，我们分析了乳糖酶针对囊泡壁碳水化合物部分的潜在作用。杀阿米巴评估表明，乳糖酶对 A. castellanii 的滋养体无效，但增强了洗必泰的杀阿米巴作用。在测试范围内，乳糖酶对正常的人角质形成细胞（HaCaT）没有任何毒性。因此，乳糖酶可用于进一步评估，以开发棘阿米巴感染管理中的潜在治疗剂以及有效的隐形眼镜消毒剂的配方。
