Human Amebiasis: Breaking the Paradigm?

Cecilia Ximénez, Rene Cerritos, Liliana Rojas, Silvio Dolabella, Patricia Morán, Mineko Shibayama, Enrique González, Alicia Valadez, Eric Hernández, Olivia Valenzuela, Angélica Limón, Oswaldo Partida and Edwards F. Silva
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Cecilia Ximénez: Department of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
Rene Cerritos: Department of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
Liliana Rojas: Department of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
Silvio Dolabella: Department of Morphology, Laboratory of Parasitology, Federal University of Sergipe, Aracaju, Sergipe, 49100-000, Brazil
Patricia Morán: Department of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
Mineko Shibayama: Department of Infectomic and Molecular Pathogenesis, (CINVESTAV), Mexico City, 07360, Mexico
Enrique González: Department of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
Alicia Valadez: Department of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
Eric Hernández: Department of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
Olivia Valenzuela: Department of Chemistry and Biological Science, University of Sonora (UNISON), Hermosillo, Sonora, 83000, Mexico
Angélica Limón: Department of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
Oswaldo Partida: Department of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
Edwards F. Silva: Department of Parasitology, Institute for Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Brazil

IJERPH, 2010, vol. 7, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: For over 30 years it has been established that the Entamoeba histolytica protozoan included two biologically and genetically different species, one with a pathogenic phenotype called E. histolytica and the other with a non-pathogenic phenotype called Entamoeba dispar . Both of these amoebae species can infect humans. E. histolytica has been considered as a potential pathogen that can cause serious damage to the large intestine (colitis, dysentery) and other extraintestinal organs, mainly the liver (amebic liver abscess), whereas E. dispar is a species that interacts with humans in a commensal relationship, causing no symptoms or any tissue damage. This paradigm, however, should be reconsidered or re-evaluated. In the present work, we report the detection and genotyping of E. dispar sequences of DNA obtained from patients with amebic liver abscesses, including the genotyping of an isolate obtained from a Brazilian patient with a clinical diagnosis of intestinal amebiasis that was previously characterized as an E. dispar species. The genetic diversity and phylogenetic analysis performed by our group has shown the existence of several different genotypes of E. dispar that can be associated to, or be potentiality responsible for intestinal or liver tissue damage, similar to that observed with E. histolytica .

Keywords: human amebiasis; E. histolytica; E. dispar; genetic diversity; phylogeny (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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