Comparison of specific activity and cytopathic effects of purified 33 kDa serine proteinase from Acanthamoeba strains with different degree of virulence.
10.3347/kjp.2006.44.4.321
- Author:
Won Tae KIM
1
;
Hyun Hee KONG
;
Young Ran HA
;
Yeon Chul HONG
;
Hae Jin JEONG
;
Hak Sun YU
;
Dong Il CHUNG
Author Information
1. Department of Parasitology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu 700-422, Korea. dichung@knu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article ; Comparative Study ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords:
Acanthamoeba;
amebic encephalitis;
amebic keratitis;
serine proteinase;
cytopathic effects
- MeSH:
Virulence Factors/isolation & purification/*metabolism;
Virulence;
Trophozoites/physiology;
Substrate Specificity;
Soil/parasitology;
Serine Endopeptidases/isolation & purification/*metabolism;
Humans;
Epithelial Cells/parasitology/*pathology;
Encephalitis;
Cornea/cytology/parasitology/*pathology;
Cells, Cultured;
Animals;
Acanthamoeba castellanii/enzymology/growth & development/pathogenicity;
Acanthamoeba Keratitis/parasitology;
Acanthamoeba/classification/*enzymology/growth & development/*pathogenicity
- From:The Korean Journal of Parasitology
2006;44(4):321-330
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
The pathogenic mechanism of granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE) and amebic keratitis (AK) by Acanthamoeba has yet to be clarified. Protease has been recognized to play an important role in the pathogenesis of GAE and AK. In the present study, we have compared specific activity and cytopathic effects (CPE) of purified 33 kDa serine proteinases from Acanthamoeba strains with different degree of virulence (A. healyi OC-3A, A. lugdunensis KA/E2, and A. castellanii Neff). Trophozoites of the 3 strains revealed different degrees of CPE on human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells. The effect was remarkably reduced by adding phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride (PMSF), a serine proteinase inhibitor. This result indicated that PMSF-susceptible proteinase is the main component causing cytopathy to HCE cells by Acanthamoeba. The purified 33 kDa serine proteinase showed strong activity toward HCE cells and extracellular matrix proteins. The purified proteinase from OC-3A, the most virulent strain, demonstrated the highest enzyme activity compared to KA/E2, an ocular isolate, and Neff, a soil isolate. Polyclonal antibodies against the purified 33 kDa serine proteinase inhibit almost completely the proteolytic activity of culture supernatant of Acanthamoeba. In line with these results, the 33 kDa serine proteinase is suggested to play an important role in pathogenesis and to be the main component of virulence factor of Acanthamoeba.
