Entamoeba histolytica: target cells killed by trophozoites undergo DNA fragmentation which is not blocked by Bcl-2.

Amebic destruction of neutrophils and macrophages is contact-dependent. Adherence is mediated by a galactose-specific surface lectin on the amebic membrane. The pathway by which contact-dependent cytolysis of the target cell occurs is unknown. We hypothesized that target cell death is due to the triggering of apoptosis (programmed cell death) by the amebae. The purpose of this study was to determine whether target cell DNA is fragmented into a ladder pattern characteristic of apoptosis and to test whether overexpression of Bcl-2, a protein that confers resistance to apoptotic death from some stimuli, blocks target cell killing. The murine myeloid cell line FDC-P1 transfected with a retrovirus construct expressing the Bcl-2 protein was shown to be resistant to the apoptotic death that the parental line undergoes upon growth factor deprivation. 51Cr-labeled FDC-P1 control or bcl-2-transfected cells were incubated with Entamoeba histolytica (4:1 cell/ameba ratio) and killing of the cells was assessed by 51Cr release. Both cell lines were susceptible to contact-dependent killing. Death induced by the amebae in the bcl-2-transfected cells resulted in a DNA ladder fragmentation pattern (using [125I]iododeoxyuridine-labeled target cell DNA) identical to that seen in the control cells undergoing apoptosis upon growth factor withdrawal. Target cell DNA fragmentation was inhibited by blocking adherence with galactose. Our data suggest that target cell killing by E. histolytica can occur via Bcl-2-independent apoptotic mechanism.

Neutralizing monoclonal antibody epitopes of the Entamoeba histolytica galactose adhesin map to the cysteine-rich extracellular domain of the 170-kilodalton subunit.

Entamoeba histolytica adheres to human colonic mucins and colonic epithelial cells via a galactose-binding adhesin. The adhesin is a heterodimeric glycoprotein composed of 170- and 35-kDa subunits. Fragments of the hgl1 gene encoding the 170-kDa subunit were expressed as recombinant fusion proteins in Escherichia coli and reacted with anti-adhesin monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) or pooled human immune sera. The MAbs tested recognize seven distinct epitopes on the 170-kDa subunit and have distinct effects on the adherence and complement-inhibitory activities of the adhesin. All seven MAbs reacted with a fusion protein containing the cysteine-rich domain of the protein. Pooled human immune sera reacted with the same cysteine-rich domain as the MAbs and also with a construct containing the first 596 amino acids. Reactivity of three MAbs with the surface of intact trophozoites confirmed that the cysteine-rich domain was located extracellularly. The location of individual epitopes was fine mapped by constructing carboxy-terminal deletions in the cysteine-rich region of the fusion protein. The locations of adherence-enhancing and -inhibiting epitopes were partially distinguished, and the epitopes where complement-inhibitory MAbs bound were demonstrated to be near the adhesin's area of sequence identity with the human complement inhibitor CD59.