The seroepidemiology of Entamoeba histolytica infection in Tepehuanos population in Mexico is largely unknown. This study aimed to study the seroprevalence and correlates of E. histolytica antibodies in Tepehuanos in Durango, Mexico. Through a cross-sectional study, we determined the frequency of E. histolytica IgG antibodies in 156 Tepehuanos people in Durango, Mexico using an enzyme-linked im...

Entamoeba histolytica is an invasive intestinal pathogenic parasitic protozoan that causes amebiasis. It must be distinguished from Entamoeba dispar and E. moshkovskii, nonpathogenic commensal parasites of the human gut lumen that are morphologically identical to E. histolytica. Detection of specific E. histolytica antigens in stools is a fast, sensitive technique that should be considered as t...

BIOSITE Triage was 68.3% sensitive and 100% specific for the detection of Entamoeba histolytica-E. dispar (n = 71) compared to Alexon-Trend's ProSpecT test (reference standard) using fresh-frozen stool. Neither test is able to distinguish E. histolytica from E. dispar. Triage was 83.3% sensitive and 100% specific compared to microscopy (formalin-ether concentrates and permanent stains) for the ...

Degradation of the mucus layer by Entamoeba histolytica is a prerequisite for invasion of the colonic mucosa. In this study, we demonstrate that amoeba-secreted products degrade (3)H-labeled and native colonic mucin oligosaccharides independently of proteolytic activity. We conclude that E. histolytica degrades mucin oligosaccharides, which may facilitate parasite invasion of the colon.

The in vitro activities of magainin analogs against Blastocystis hominis, Entamoeba histolytica, and Trypanosoma cruzi were assessed by protozoan morphological integrity and motility. The antiprotozoan activities in descending order were magainin B greater than G greater than H, the same order as the alpha-helix contents of the analogs. Magainin B and G were effective against B. hominis, T. cru...

This study shows that Entamoeba histolytica binds hyaluronic acid. The binding molecule was identified as an 80-kDa membrane protein and was recognized by anti-CD44 monoclonal antibodies. These data indicate that a CD44 cross-reacting adherence molecule is expressed on E. histolytica.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Direct demonstration of Entamoeba histolytica by conventional microscopy and in vitro culture in pus obtained from amebic liver abscess (ALA) is often unsuccessful. We evaluated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of E. histolytica DNA in such pus. METHODS Species-specific primers were used for the amplification of E. histolytica DNA from liver pus obtained ...

Sequences corresponding to some of the polymorphic loci previously reported from Entamoeba histolytica have been detected in Entamoeba dispar. Comparison of nucleotide sequences of two loci between E. dispar strain SAW760 and E. histolytica strain HM-1:IMSS revealed significant differences in both repeat and flanking regions. The tandem repeat units varied not only in sequence but also in numbe...

We have developed a reliable method for PCR-based genotyping of Entamoeba histolytica based on variation in the numbers of short tandem repeats that are linked to tRNA genes in this species. Species-specific primer pairs were designed that differentiate E. histolytica from E. dispar as well as that reveal intraspecies PCR product length polymorphisms. The primers were tested with samples from d...

It has been more than eight years since the discovery of mitosomes (mitochondrial remnant organelles) in the intestinal human pathogen Entamoeba histolytica. Despite detailed knowledge about the biochemistry of this parasite and the completion of the E. histolytica genome sequencing project no physiological function has yet been unequivocally assigned to these organelles. Entamoeba mitosomes se...