Acanthamoeba, an environmental phagocyte enhancing survival and transmission of human pathogens

Binod Rayamajhee; Mark D P Willcox; Fiona L Henriquez; Constantinos Petsoglou; Dinesh Subedi; Nicole Carnt

doi:10.1016/j.pt.2022.08.007

Acanthamoeba, an environmental phagocyte enhancing survival and transmission of human pathogens

Trends Parasitol. 2022 Nov;38(11):975-990. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2022.08.007. Epub 2022 Sep 12.

Authors

Binod Rayamajhee¹, Mark D P Willcox², Fiona L Henriquez³, Constantinos Petsoglou⁴, Dinesh Subedi⁵, Nicole Carnt⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: b.rayamajhee@unsw.edu.au.
² School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: m.willcox@unsw.edu.au.
³ Institute of Biomedical and Environmental Health Research, School of Health and Life Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, G72 0LH, UK.
⁴ Sydney and Sydney Eye Hospital, Southeastern Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia; Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
⁵ School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Australia.
⁶ School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia.

PMID: 36109313
DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2022.08.007

Abstract

The opportunistic protist Acanthamoeba, which interacts with other microbes such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, shows significant similarity in cellular and functional aspects to human macrophages. Intracellular survival of microbes in this microbivorous amoebal host may be a crucial step for initiation of infection in higher eukaryotic cells. Therefore, Acanthamoeba-microbe adaptations are considered an evolutionary model of macrophage-pathogen interactions. This paper reviews Acanthamoeba as an emerging human pathogen and different ecological interactions between Acanthamoeba and microbes that may serve as environmental training grounds and a genetic melting pot for the evolution, persistence, and transmission of potential human pathogens.

Keywords: evolution; grazing resistance; microbial symbiosis; phagocytosis; predation; virulence factors.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Acanthamoeba* / microbiology
Bacteria
Fungi
Humans
Macrophages
Phagocytes