Extracellular vesicles and vesicle-free secretome of the protozoa Acanthamoeba castellanii under homeostasis and nutritional stress and their damaging potential to host cells.

ABSTRACT: Acanthamoeba castellanii (Ac) are ubiquitously distributed in nature, and by contaminating medical devices such as heart valves and contact lenses, they cause a broad range of clinical presentations to humans. Although several molecules have been described to play a role in Ac pathogenesis, including parasite host-tissue invasion and escaping of host-defense, little information is available on their mechanisms of secretion. Herein, we describe the molecular components secreted by Ac, under different protein availability conditions to simulate host niches. Ac extracellular vesicles (EVs) were morphologically and biochemically characterized. Dynamic light scattering analysis of Ac EVs identified polydisperse populations, which correlated to electron microscopy measurements. High-performance

SUBMITTER: Goncalves DS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5955443 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature