A Sequential Model of Host Cell Killing and Phagocytosis by Entamoeba histolytica.pdfVIP

Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Parasitology Research Volume 2011, Article ID 926706, 10 pages doi:10.1155/2011/926706 Review Article A Sequential Model of Host Cell Killing and Phagocytosis by Entamoeba histolytica Adam Sateriale1, 2 and Christopher D. Huston1, 3 1 Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, The University of Vermont, Room 320 Staff ord Hall, 95 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405, USA 2 Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Program, College of Medicine, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA 3 Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, College of Medicine, The University of Vermont, Room 320 Staff ord Hall, 95 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Christopher D. Huston, christopher.huston@ Received 24 November 2010; Accepted 19 December 2010 Academic Editor: D. S. Lindsay Copyright © 2011 A. Sateriale and C. D. Huston. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica is responsible for invasive intestinal and extraintestinal amebiasis. The virulence of Entamoeba histolytica is strongly correlated with the parasite’s capacity to effectively kill and phagocytose host cells. The process by which host cells are killed and phagocytosed follows a sequential model of adherence, cell killing, initiation of phagocytosis, and engulfment. This paper presents recent advances in the cytolytic and phagocytic processes of Entamoeba histolytica in context of the sequential model. 1. Introduction e