Abstract
A cell-free growth medium for the opportunistic pathogenic ameba Balamuthia mandrillaris is presented. This represents an advance over the use of monkey kidney cells for growth of the amebas and can be helpful in isolation of these amebas from brain tissue from cases in which amebic meningoencephalitis is a diagnostic possibility, as well as for biochemical and molecular biological studies. Three isolates of Balamuthia have been cultured in this medium. The cell-free growth system was also used to screen cultures for sensitivity to a variety of antimicrobial agents. Of the various drugs tested, pentamidine isethionate was most effective against amebas (ca. 90% inhibition after 6 days of exposure), but the drug was amebastatic and not amebacidal in the axenic system at the highest concentration tested (10 micrograms/ml).
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (174.8 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Anzil A. P., Rao C., Wrzolek M. A., Visvesvara G. S., Sher J. H., Kozlowski P. B. Amebic meningoencephalitis in a patient with AIDS caused by a newly recognized opportunistic pathogen. Leptomyxid ameba. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 1991 Jan;115(1):21–25. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chimelli L., Hahn M. D., Scaravilli F., Wallace S., Visvesvara G. S. Granulomatous amoebic encephalitis due to leptomyxid amoebae: report of the first Brazilian case. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1992 Nov-Dec;86(6):635–635. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(92)90164-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gordon S. M., Steinberg J. P., DuPuis M. H., Kozarsky P. E., Nickerson J. F., Visvesvara G. S. Culture isolation of Acanthamoeba species and leptomyxid amebas from patients with amebic meningoencephalitis, including two patients with AIDS. Clin Infect Dis. 1992 Dec;15(6):1024–1030. doi: 10.1093/clind/15.6.1024. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Griesemer D. A., Barton L. L., Reese C. M., Johnson P. C., Gabrielsen J. A., Talwar D., Visvesvara G. S. Amebic meningoencephalitis caused by Balamuthia mandrillaris. Pediatr Neurol. 1994 May;10(3):249–254. doi: 10.1016/0887-8994(94)90034-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Martínez A. J., Guerra A. E., García-Tamayo J., Céspedes G., González-Alfonzo J. E., Visvesvara G. S. Granulomatous amebic encephalitis: a review and report of a spontaneous case from Venezuela. Acta Neuropathol. 1994;87(4):430–434. doi: 10.1007/BF00313614. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Neafie R. C., Marty A. M. Unusual infections in humans. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1993 Jan;6(1):34–56. doi: 10.1128/cmr.6.1.34. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Taratuto A. L., Monges J., Acefe J. C., Meli F., Paredes A., Martinez A. J. Leptomyxid amoeba encephalitis: report of the first case in Argentina. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1991 Jan-Feb;85(1):77–77. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(91)90164-t. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Visvesvara G. S., Martinez A. J., Schuster F. L., Leitch G. J., Wallace S. V., Sawyer T. K., Anderson M. Leptomyxid ameba, a new agent of amebic meningoencephalitis in humans and animals. J Clin Microbiol. 1990 Dec;28(12):2750–2756. doi: 10.1128/jcm.28.12.2750-2756.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Visvesvara G. S., Schuster F. L., Martinez A. J. Balamuthia mandrillaris, N. G., N. Sp., agent of amebic meningoencephalitis in humans and other animals. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 1993 Jul-Aug;40(4):504–514. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1993.tb04943.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]