title: Acanthamoeba culbertsoni elicits soluble factors that exert anti-microglial cell activity.
abstract: Acanthamoeba culbertsoni is an opportunistic pathogen that causes granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE), a chronic and often fatal disease of the central nervous system (CNS). A hallmark of GAE is the formation of granulomas around the amoebae. These cellular aggregates consist of microglia, macrophages, lymphocytes, and neutrophils, which produce a myriad of proinflammatory soluble factors. In the present study, it is demonstrated that A. culbertsoni secretes serine peptidases that degrade chemokines and cytokines produced by a mouse microglial cell line (BV-2 cells). Furthermore, soluble factors present in cocultures of A. culbertsoni and BV-2 cells, as well as in cocultures of A. culbertsoni and primary neonatal rat cerebral cortex microglia, induced apoptosis of these macrophage-like cells. Collectively, the results indicate that A. culbertsoni can apply a multiplicity of cell contact-independent modes to target macrophage-like cells that exert antiamoeba activities in the CNS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, 1101 E. Marshall Street, Richmond, VA 23298-0678, USA.
authors.forename: Jenica L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Gabriela A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Erinn S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Raborn
authors.forename: Audrey D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Lafrenaye
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marciano-Cabral
authors.forename: Guy A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Cabral
mesh_terms: D000048:Acanthamoeba / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001921:Brain / Q000276:immunology; D002460:Cell Line; D018925:Chemokines / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D057131:Immune Evasion; D051379:Mice; D017628:Microglia / Q000276:immunology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D057057:Serine Proteases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018925:Chemokines; D016207:Cytokines; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D057057:Serine Proteases