Entamoebas
Entamoebas - Related Videos
06:05
Development of a Negative Selectable Marker for Entamoeba histolytica
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Cited by 3 •
2010
We report development of a negative selection system in E. histolytica based upon transgenic expression of a chimeric protein (FCU1) and selection with the prodrug 5-fluorocytosine. The FCU1 protein is a fusion of yeast cytosine deaminase and uracil phosphoribosyltransferase. Expression of FCU1 resulted in increased E. histolytica sensitivity towards 5-fluorocytosine.
11:49
Analysis of the Epithelial Damage Produced by Entamoeba histolytica Infection
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Cited by 5 •
2014
Human infection by Entamoeba histolytica leads to amoebiasis, a major cause of diarrhea in tropical countries. Infection is initiated by pathogen interactions with intestinal epithelial cells, provoking the opening of cell-cell contacts and consequently diarrhea, sometimes followed by liver infection. This article provides a model to assess the early host-pathogen interactions to improve our understanding of amoebiasis pathogenesis.
12:36
In vitro tRNA Methylation Assay with the Entamoeba histolytica DNA and tRNA Methyltransferase Dnmt2 (Ehmeth) Enzyme
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Cited by 20 •
2010
This protocol describes the preparation of a synthetic tRNA substrate for the Entamoeba histolytica DNA/tRNA methyltransferase 2 (Dnmt2) homolog Ehmeth and the measure of its methyltransferase activity. This experimental approach can be used for investigating the activity of other Dnmt2 proteins.
FAQs
Pseudopodia are temporary cellular extensions that allow Entamoebas to move through their surroundings and capture food. Their formation links changes in cell shape with feeding behavior, making them useful for studying eukaryotic cell motility. Observing these extensions helps researchers examine how a single-celled organism coordinates movement and nutrient acquisition without specialized tissues or organs.
The transition between active trophozoites and resistant cysts separates growth and multiplication from environmental persistence. Cysts can survive conditions that do not support active trophozoites, while trophozoites carry out intestinal multiplication in pathogenic infections. This alternating pattern helps explain how Entamoeba species persist outside or within hosts and how infection can begin after cyst ingestion.
Comparing pathogenic with nonpathogenic species allows researchers to distinguish traits associated with disease from features shared by related single-celled eukaryotes. The comparison can clarify how organisms adapt to animal hosts, respond to environmental stress, and potentially evade host defenses. It therefore connects basic biology with questions about why some Entamoeba lineages cause disease while others do not.
Entamoebas provide a system for examining direct interactions between a single-celled eukaryote and its host environment. Their motility, feeding, and phagocytosis can be studied alongside the consequences of intestinal multiplication in pathogenic species. These processes help connect cellular behavior with broader host-microbe relationships and with mechanisms that contribute to parasitic disease.
Researchers can use Entamoebas to investigate how cell shape changes produce movement and how cells capture material through phagocytosis. These observations address fundamental questions in eukaryotic cell biology while remaining relevant to organisms that live in animal hosts. The resulting evidence can link basic cellular mechanisms to feeding, environmental adaptation, and interactions associated with infection.
Entamoeba histolytica is particularly important because it represents the pathogenic context in which cyst ingestion can initiate infection and trophozoites multiply in the intestine. Studying this sequence connects the organism’s life history with disease mechanisms. Research on it also provides a basis for comparing infection-related traits with those found in nonpathogenic Entamoeba species.
Entamoebas connect several biological scales: environmental persistence through resistant cysts, cellular behavior through pseudopodial movement and phagocytosis, and host biology through intestinal infection. This combination makes them relevant to microbial ecology, eukaryotic cell biology, and parasitic disease research. Studies can therefore examine how a single-celled organism responds to both external environments and animal hosts.