ABSTRACT
The genus Acanthamoeba contains nearly 25 free-living ameba, which are among the most communal protozoa in the natural habitat. Acanthamoeba has a lifecycle that comprises two stages. The first is an actively feeding, separating trophozoite, and the second is a dormant cyst. We investigated the ameba genome and proteome databases to explore the amebal counterparts of human adhesion molecules to understand the interaction of Acanthamoeba trophozoites with human tissues like endothelium, basement membranes, and connective tissue matrix. Due to the ionic character of the lens, large amounts of water content support Acanthamoeba adhesions to contact lenses. Mannose occluding and saturation studies produced slight adherence of Acanthamoeba to host corneal cells and decreased cytolysis, while no residue other than mannose has exhibited a comparable result. The paths adopted by Acanthamoeba to enter into the brain and spinal cord were studied by Culbertson et al. and L. Cerva.
