Amebic Meningoencephalitis Caused by <i>Balamuthia Mandrillaris</i> (Leptomyxid Ameba) in a Horse

Kinde, Hailu; Visvesvara, Govinda S.; Barr, B. C.; Nordhausen, Robert W.; Chiu, Phillip H. W.

doi:10.1177/104063879801000416

Cited by 40 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(37 reference statements)

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“…1,13,23,29 DNA extractions were performed directly on B. mandrillaris isolates as received at Ohio State University from the CDC without further culturing. An aliquot of 3 ml of the liquid culture was removed and pelleted at 3,000Xg in 2 separate microfuge tubes containing 1.5 ml each.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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GENOTYPING OF BALAMUTHIA MANDRILLARIS BASED ON NUCLEAR 18S AND MITOCHONDRIAL 16S rRNA GENES

Booton¹,

Carmichael²,

Visvesvara³

et al. 2003

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Abstract. Balamuthia mandrillaris is an opportunistically pathogenic ameba that causes fatal granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE) in vertebrates. Previous phylogenetic analyses that included the sequence of a single nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (18S or ssu rDNA) from this ameba suggested that Balamuthia is closely related to Acanthamoeba, another opportunistically pathogenic amebic genus, which includes multiple ssu rDNA genotypes. We tested whether this also is true for Balamuthia. The nuclear ssu rDNA from 4 isolates and the mitochondrial ssu rDNA from 7 isolates of B. mandrillaris have been sequenced. No variation in the nuclear rDNA sequences and low levels of variation in the mitochondrial rDNA were found. Both gene sequences were consistent with a single genotype for B. mandrillaris. The mitochondrial sequences of B. mandrillaris are unique and should be useful for development of genus-specific diagnostic probes for use with clinical, environmental, and archived specimens.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1,6,10,[15][16][17]23 Currently an immunofluorescence test using species-specific sera is the most reliable means to distinguish between the 2 amebae. In contrast to Acanthamoeba, which has been found readily in soil, water, and sewage, B. mandrillaris has never been isolated from the environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GENOTYPING OF BALAMUTHIA MANDRILLARIS BASED ON NUCLEAR 18S AND MITOCHONDRIAL 16S rRNA GENES

Booton¹,

Carmichael²,

Visvesvara³

et al. 2003

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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“…Additional isolates have been obtained postmortem from humans in compromised health (a chronic alcoholic suffering seizures and an amputee with skin abscesses, both elderly), as well as from apparently immunocompetent humans (mostly young children). Another isolate in culture was from a horse (44). Attempts to culture these ame- a Medium DGM-21A was described previously by Byers et al (9).…”

Section: Balamuthia Mandrillarismentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultivation of Pathogenic and Opportunistic Free-Living Amebas

2002

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Free-living amebas are widely distributed in soil and water, particularly members of the genera Acanthamoeba and Naegleria. Since the early 1960s, they have been recognized as opportunistic human pathogens, capable of causing infections of the central nervous system (CNS) in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts. Naegleria is the causal agent of a fulminant CNS condition, primary amebic meningoencephalitis; Acanthamoeba is responsible for a more chronic and insidious infection of the CNS termed granulomatous amebic encephalitis, as well as amebic keratitis. Balamuthia sp. has been recognized in the past decade as another ameba implicated in CNS infections. Cultivation of these organisms in vitro provides the basis for a better understanding of the biology of these amebas, as well as an important means of isolating and identifying them from clinical samples. Naegleria and Acanthamoeba can be cultured axenically in cell-free media or on tissue culture cells as feeder layers and in cultures with bacteria as a food source. Balamuthia, which has yet to be isolated from the environment, will not grow on bacteria. Instead, it requires tissue culture cells as feeder layers or an enriched cell-free medium. The recent identification of another ameba, Sappinia diploidea, suggests that other free-living forms may also be involved as causal agents of human infections

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“…Since then, B. mandrillaris has been found as a causal agent of granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent humans and in other animals (10,20,21). The disease has a chronic, subacute phase that could develop over a period of time from 2 weeks to 2 years.…”

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Identification of Antigenic Targets for Immunodetection of Balamuthia mandrillaris Infection

Kučerová

Sriram

Wilkins

et al. 2011

Clin. Vaccine Immunol.

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The free-living amoeba Balamuthia mandrillaris causes granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) in humans. Rapid identification of balamuthiasis is critical for effective therapeutic intervention and case management. In the present study we identified target antigens for the development of a serological assay for B. mandrillaris infection. We demonstrated by silver staining that protein profiles for all eight isolates of B. mandrillaris, independent of human or animal origin or geographic origin, appeared to be similar except for some minor differences, indicating the molecular homogeneity of these strains. The profiles of all isolates, which ranged from 200 to 10 kDa, were similar, with a prominent protein visible around 30 kDa; all appeared considerably different from protein profiles of the control E6 cells and Acanthamoeba castellanii and Naegleria fowleri isolates. Western blot analysis with rabbit hyperimmune serum identified the major immunodominant antigens of 25, 50, 75, and 80 kDa; positive human sera reacted strongly with proteins around 25, 40, 50, and 75 kDa. Proteins around 40 kDa detected by human serum were not recognized by hyperimmune rabbit serum. None of the target proteins were detected by uninfected control sera. Reactivities of five patients' sera with 4 different isolates of B. mandrillaris (2 strains of human and 2 strains of animal origins) revealed that patients' sera reacted slightly differently with different B. mandrillaris isolates, although major proteins of approximately 25, 50, and 75 kDa were present in all extracts.

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Amebic Meningoencephalitis Caused by Balamuthia Mandrillaris (Leptomyxid Ameba) in a Horse

Cited by 40 publications

References 11 publications

GENOTYPING OF BALAMUTHIA MANDRILLARIS BASED ON NUCLEAR 18S AND MITOCHONDRIAL 16S rRNA GENES

GENOTYPING OF BALAMUTHIA MANDRILLARIS BASED ON NUCLEAR 18S AND MITOCHONDRIAL 16S rRNA GENES

Cultivation of Pathogenic and Opportunistic Free-Living Amebas

Identification of Antigenic Targets for Immunodetection of Balamuthia mandrillaris Infection

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