Cytopathogenicity of Entamoeba histolytica: hemolytic activity of trophozoite homogenates.

In in vitro assays the hemolytic activity of total homogenates of trophozoites of seven strains of amebae were tested for specificity and potency against the erythrocytes of eight mammalian species. The species of Entamoeba included in the tests were E. histolytica, E. invadens, E. moshkovskii, and the Laredo type of E. histolytica. The hemolytic activity was found to be dose-dependent and strain-specific, with E. histolytica being generally the species having the highest hemolytic potency.