Combating Acanthamoeba spp. cysts: what are the options?

Ayaz Anwar, Naveed Ahmed Khan*, Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

56 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Acanthamoeba spp. are protist pathogens and causative agents of serious infections including keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Its ability to convert into dormant and highly resistant cysts form limits effectiveness of available therapeutic agents and presents a pivotal challenge for drug development. During the cyst stage, Acanthamoeba is protected by the presence of hardy cyst walls, comprised primarily of carbohydrates and cyst-specific proteins, hence synthesis inhibition and/or degradation of cyst walls is of major interest. This review focuses on targeting of Acanthamoeba cysts by identifying viable therapeutic targets.
Original languageEnglish
Article number26
JournalParasites & Vectors
Volume11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 Jan 2018

Keywords

  • Acanthamoeba
  • Cyst
  • Encystation
  • Excystation
  • Therapeutic targets

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