ArticleApplied and environmental microbiology2005
Balamuthia mandrillaris, free-living ameba and opportunistic agent of encephalitis, is a potential host for Legionella pneumophila bacteria.
Article in Applied and environmental microbiology, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed.
- Free-living amoebae: a journey into historical aspects and to current discoveries.Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz · 2025Review
- Stagnation arising through intermittent usage is associated with increased viable but non culturableFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Article
- Concept about the Virulence Factor ofMicroorganisms · 2022Review
- Balamuthia spinosa n. sp. (Amoebozoa, Discosea) from the brackish-water sediments of Nivå Bay (Baltic Sea, The Sound) - a novel potential vector of Legionella pneumophila in the environment.Parasitology research · 2022Article
- Revisiting the Mechanisms of Immune Evasion Employed by Human Parasites.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Review
- Review
- Review
- From Many Hosts, One Accidental Pathogen: The Diverse Protozoan Hosts ofFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2017Review
- Identification of Legionella Pneumophila in Intubated Patients With TaqMan Real Time PCR.Jundishapur journal of microbiology · 2015Article
- Multiple Legionella pneumophila Type II secretion substrates, including a novel protein, contribute to differential infection of the amoebae Acanthamoeba castellanii, Hartmannella vermiformis, and Naegleria lovaniensis.Infection and immunity · 2013Article
- Relationships between free-living protozoa, cultivable Legionella spp., and water quality characteristics in three drinking water supplies in the Caribbean.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2011Article
- Detection of protozoan hosts for Legionella pneumophila in engineered water systems by using a biofilm batch test.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2010Article
- Caenorhabditis is a metazoan host for Legionella.Cellular microbiology · 2010Article
- Legionella, protozoa, and biofilms: interactions within complex microbial systems.Microbial ecology · 2009Review
- Free-living protozoa in two unchlorinated drinking water supplies, identified by phylogenic analysis of 18S rRNA gene sequences.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2009Article
- Increasing importance of Balamuthia mandrillaris.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2008Review
- The type II secretion system of Legionella pneumophila elaborates two aminopeptidases, as well as a metalloprotease that contributes to differential infection among protozoan hosts.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2008Article
- Oral infection of immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice with Balamuthia mandrillaris amebae.Parasitology research · 2007Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Balamuthia mandrillaris is a free-living ameba and an opportunistic agent of granulomatous encephalitis in humans and other mammalian species. Other free-living amebas, such as Acanthamoeba and Hartmannella, can provide a niche for intracellular survival of bacteria, including the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease, Legionella pneumophila. Infection of amebas by L. pneumophila enhances the bacterial infectivity for mammalian cells and lung tissues. Likewise, the pathogenicity of amebas may be enhanced when they host bacteria. So far, the colonization of B. mandrillaris by bacteria has not been convincingly shown. In this study, we investigated whether this ameba could host L. pneumophila bacteria. Our experiments showed that L. pneumophila could initiate uptake by B. mandrillaris and could replicate within the ameba about 4 to 5 log cycles from 24 to 72 h after infection. On the other hand, a dotA mutant, known to be unable to propagate in Acanthamoeba castellanii, also did not replicate within B. mandrillaris. Approaching completion of the intracellular cycle, L. pneumophila wild-type bacteria were able to destroy their ameboid hosts. Observations by light microscopy paralleled our quantitative data and revealed the rounding, collapse, clumping, and complete destruction of the infected amebas. Electron microscopic studies unveiled the replication of the bacteria in a compartment surrounded by a structure resembling rough endoplasmic reticulum. The course of intracellular infection, the degree of bacterial multiplication, and the ultrastructural features of a L. pneumophila-infected B. mandrillaris ameba resembled those described for other amebas hosting Legionella bacteria. We hence speculate that B. mandrillaris might serve as a host for bacteria in its natural environment.
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