In a slum community in northeastern Brazil 20% of a sample population was colonized with Entamoeba histolytica or Entamoeba dispar and 10.6% was colonized with E. histolytica alone. No correlation between seropositivity for anti-Ga1NAc lectin antibody and colonization was found. These results suggest that colonization does not necessarily produce immunity to reinfection.

Actin has been identified and purified partially from trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica HMI-IMSS by a procedure that minimizes proteolysis. In cellular extracts, Entamoeba actin would copolymerize with muscle actin, but would not bind to DNase I or form microfilaments. Fractionation of the extracts by DEAE-cellulose and Sephadex G-150 chromatography yielded a purified actin that would copol...

The objective this study was to determine the occurrence of the species Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba díspar in clinical samples of ambulatory patients in Pernambuco. A specific assay for Entamoeba histolytica was used in this study, which identified no positive fecal samples among the 213 patients. These results confirm that E. dispar is the dominant species in Pernambuco State.

Twelve human infections with Entamoeba spp. producing uninucleated cysts were studied. DNA was extracted from infected feces and used to amplify part of the ameba small-subunit rRNA gene. Sequence analysis identified four distinct types of Entamoeba, all of which are related to Entamoeba polecki and E. chattoni and two of which have not been reported previously. Whether these genetic types repr...

Enteric protozoan Entamoeba histolytica is a major cause of debilitating diarrheal infection worldwide with high morbidity and mortality. Even though the clinical burden of this parasite is very high, this infection is categorized as a neglected disease. Parasite is transmitted through feco-oral route and exhibit two distinct stages namely - trophozoites and cysts. Mechanism and regulation of e...

Amoebiasis continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children in developing countries. Entamoeba histolytica infections are commonly observed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world including Iran. In developed countries Entamoeba histolytica infections are commonly seen in travelers, recent immigrants, homosexual men, and inmates of institutions. The disease is more ...

Entamoeba possesses a highly divergent mitochondrion-related organelle known as the mitosome. Here, we report the discovery of a novel protein in Entamoeba, which we name Mitosomal β-barrel Outer Membrane Protein of 30 kDa (MBOMP30). Initially identified through in silico analysis, we experimentally confirmed that MBOMP30 is indeed a β-barrel protein. Circular dichroism analysis showed MBOMP30 ...

Homologous recombination (HR) has not been demonstrated in the parasitic protists Entamoeba histolytica or Entamoeba invadens, as no convenient method is available to measure it. However, HR must exist to ensure genome integrity, and possible genetic exchange, especially during stage conversion from trophozoite to cyst. Here we show the up regulation of mitotic and meiotic HR genes in Entamoeba...