Abstract
Acanthamoeba keratitis is a serious sight-threatening disease. The relatively low temperature of the cornea may explain why amoebic infections usually are localized in this tissue and rarely spread to other parts of the eye. In this study, the growth rate of the amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii was examined at different temperatures. The aim was to establish the optimal growth temperature for A. castellanii and to examine the growth within the vicinity of the core body temperature. The growth rates of four clinical and two environmental strains of A. castellanii were estimated at different temperatures, and temperature limitations for the trophozoite stage was established. Movements influenced by temperature gradients were monitored for two clinical strains of A. castellanii. The highest growth rate for each of the six amoebic strains tested was found to be close to 32 °C. The growth of the trophozoites of all examined strains was greatly reduced or completely halted at temperatures above 36 °C and encysted at the elevated temperature. Thus, the optimal growth temperature for the four strains of A. castellanii is close to the surface temperature of the human cornea, while the higher body core-temperature induced encysting of the amoebae. This may explain why most amoebic eye infections are confined to the cornea.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by The Danish Council for Independent Research | Medical Sciences, Bagenkop Nielsen’s Myopia Foundation and Machine Manufacturer Jochum Jensen and Wife Mette Marie Jensen born Poulsen’s Memorial Grant. The clinical strains (A2–A5) were kindly provided by Steven Tuft and Massimo Bonaiti (Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, UK). The environmental strains were kindly provided by Sílvia Cervero (Department of Microbiology. Universitat de Barcelona). One strain CCAP 1534/2 (named A10 in this study) was isolated in 1951 in Yale, USA; the other strain (named A12 in this study) was isolated by H. Salvadó and O. Canals from the Department of Animal Biology, Universitat de Barcelona. Experiments comply with the current national laws.
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Supplemental materials Fig 3
An outline of the custom-made brass block for creating a constant temperature gradient on a culture plate. Cold water was pumped through one pipe and hot water through the other. (DOCX 97 kb)
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Nielsen, M.K., Nielsen, K., Hjortdal, J. et al. Temperature limitation may explain the containment of the trophozoites in the cornea during Acanthamoeba castellanii keratitis. Parasitol Res 113, 4349–4353 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4109-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4109-0