ABSTRACT

Introduction: Acanthamoeba encompasses several species of free-living ameba encountered commonly throughout the environment. Unfortunately, these species of ameba can cause opportunistic infections that result in Acanthamoeba keratitis, granulomatous amebic encephalitis, and occasionally systemic infection.

Areas covered: This review discusses relevant literature found through PubMed and Google scholar published as of January 2021. The review summarizes current common Acanthamoeba keratitis treatments, drug discovery methodologies available for screening potential anti-Acanthamoeba compounds, and the anti-Acanthamoeba activity of various azole antifungal agents.

Expert opinion: While several biguanide and diamidine antimicrobial agents are available to clinicians to effectively treat Acanthamoeba keratitis, no singular treatment can effectively treat every Acanthamoeba keratitis case.Efforts to identify new anti-Acanthamoeba agents include trophozoite cell viability assays, which are amenable to high-throughput screening. Cysticidal assays remain largely manual and would benefit from further automation development. Additionally, the existing literature on the effectiveness of various azole antifungal agents for treating Acanthamoeba keratitis is incomplete or contradictory, suggesting the need for a systematic review of all azoles against different pathogenic Acanthamoeba strains.

摘要

简介：棘阿米巴包括几种在整个环境中常见的自由生活的阿米巴。不幸的是，这些阿米巴种类可引起机会性感染，导致棘阿米巴角膜炎、肉芽肿性阿米巴脑炎，偶尔还会引起全身感染。

涵盖的领域：本综述讨论了截至 2021 年 1 月通过 PubMed 和 Google 学者发现的相关文献。综述总结了当前常见的棘阿米巴角膜炎治疗方法、可用于筛选潜在抗棘阿米巴化合物的药物发现方法，以及各种唑类的抗棘阿米巴活性抗真菌剂。

专家意见：虽然临床医生可以使用几种双胍类和二脒类抗菌药物来有效治疗棘阿米巴角膜炎，但没有单一的治疗方法可以有效治疗每一例棘阿米巴角膜炎病例。确定新的抗棘阿米巴药物的努力包括滋养体细胞活力测定，这些测定适用于高- 通量筛选。杀囊剂检测在很大程度上仍然是手动的，并将受益于进一步的自动化发展。此外，现有关于各种唑类抗真菌剂治疗棘阿米巴角膜炎有效性的文献不完整或相互矛盾，这表明需要对所有唑类抗不同致病性棘阿米巴的有效性进行系统评价菌株。