Advances in the study of extracellular vesicles of Naegleria fowleri and their role in contact-independent pathogenic mechanisms
Naegleria fowleri EVs exhibit proteolytic and haemolytic activity and are internalized by trophozoites and MDCK epithelial cell monolayers, increasing the ionic permeability of the monolayer and inducing necrosis. Furthermore, these vesicles contain molecules associated with pathogenic processes such as leishmanolysin. Our results suggest that EVs facilitate paracellular invasion, migration, and damage caused by trophozoites and play a significant role in pathogenic processes as part of a contact-independent mechanism, which, in conjunction with a contact-dependent mechanism, enhances our understanding of the pathogenicity exhibited by this amphizoic amoeba during its invasion of target tissues.
Authors
- Catalina Flores-Maldonado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5816-0694)
- Maritza Omaña‐Molina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5881-4638)
- Lizbeth Salazar‐Villatoro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4172-7153)
- Ismael Castelan-Ramírez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0181-5821)
- Alberto Daniel Saucedo–Campos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6707-5774)
- Adolfo René Méndez‐Cruz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4231-1961)
- Dolores Hernández-Martínez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9666-2233)
- David Segura-Cobos
Institutions
- Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (MX)
- El Colegio de México (MX)
- Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (MX)
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Parasites & Vectors
- Published
- 2025-05-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-025-06786-z
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Legionella and Acanthamoeba research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.60