Acanthamoeba Keratitis
Acanthamoeba Keratitis - Related Videos
07:27
Recurrent Herpetic Stromal Keratitis in Mice, a Model for Studying Human HSK
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Cited by 17 •
2012
Most studies of herpetic corneal disease use a primary infection model. However, primary infection with HSV-1 does not typically lead to human disease. Here we describe a recurrent model of herpetic corneal disease, which more closely mimics human disease.
07:33
Quantification of Acanthamoeba spp. Motility
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Cited by 2 •
2024
This procedure describes how to visualize, track, and quantify Acanthamoeba spp. motility.
05:00
Porcine Ex vivo Cornea Model of Bacterial Keratitis: A Technique to Establish Bacterial Infection in Corneal Epithelial Cells
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2025
This video describes a protocol to set up an ex vivo model for bacterial keratitis using a corneoscleral button dissected from the porcine eye. Inoculated bacteria traverse the corneal epithelial incisions to invade the underlying stroma and establish an infection within the corneal tissues that mimic the in vivo infection.
06:10
Three Strategies to Induce Neurotrophic Keratitis and Nerve Regeneration in Murine Cornea
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Cited by 5 •
2023
Here, we propose three different methods of damaging the sensory fibres innervating the cornea. These methods facilitate the study of axon regeneration in mice. These three methods, which are adaptable to other animal models, are ideal for the study of corneal innervation physiology and regeneration.
09:22
Establishing a Porcine Ex Vivo Cornea Model for Studying Drug Treatments against Bacterial Keratitis
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Cited by 19 •
2020
This article describes a step-by-step protocol to set up an ex vivo porcine model of bacterial keratitis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is used as a prototypic organism. This innovative model mimics in vivo infection as bacterial proliferation is dependent on the ability of the bacterium to damage corneal tissue.
FAQs
Motile trophozoites attach to corneal cells, damage them, and invade deeper tissue, driving active infection and inflammation. Under unfavorable conditions, the organisms can transform into resilient cysts. This stage can persist despite environmental stress and complicate treatment, so the disease reflects both immediate cellular injury and the pathogen’s ability to survive changing conditions within or around the eye.
The transition provides Acanthamoeba with two complementary survival strategies. Trophozoites support movement, attachment, and tissue damage, whereas cysts withstand unfavorable conditions. Because these forms contribute differently to persistence and disease progression, clinicians must account for both active invasion and environmental resilience when interpreting the infection’s course and managing the risk of prolonged disease.
Improper contact-lens hygiene, exposure to contaminated water, and corneal injury are strongly associated with infection. These factors connect environmental exposure with a vulnerable corneal surface, creating an opportunity for amoebae to reach and attach to ocular tissue. In biology, this illustrates how host barriers, behavior, and environmental conditions interact to shape host-pathogen outcomes.
Evaluation combines clinical assessment with sampling of the cornea. Laboratory approaches may include microscopy to examine collected material, culture to support organism detection, and molecular testing to identify relevant biological material. Using complementary methods is important because the infection can involve different organismal forms and because laboratory findings must be interpreted alongside the eye’s clinical presentation.
Treatment may be prolonged because the organism can form resilient cysts that survive unfavorable conditions and complicate eradication. Anti-amoebic therapy therefore addresses an infection capable of persisting beyond the initial tissue damage caused by motile trophozoites. The clinical goal is to control the organism, limit continuing corneal injury, and preserve vision while the infection is managed over time.
The infection can cause severe pain, inflammation, and visual loss when corneal injury progresses. These outcomes reflect the combined effects of amoebic attachment, cellular damage, and deeper tissue invasion rather than exposure alone. Its potential to threaten sight makes timely clinical evaluation, appropriate laboratory investigation, sustained treatment, and prevention especially important in ocular biology.