Browse
Submit Data
Databases
API
Help

Dataset Information

35 Views

0 Connections

0 Citations

0 Reanalyses

0 Downloads

Omics score: 0

The transcriptome of Balamuthia mandrillaris trophozoites for structure-guided drug design

ABSTRACT: Balamuthia mandrillaris, a pathogenic free-living amoeba, causes cutaneous skin lesions as well as granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, a ‘brain-eating’ disease. As with the other known pathogenic free-living amoebas (Naegleria fowleri and Acanthamoeba species), drug discovery efforts to combat Balamuthia infections of the central nervous system are sparse; few targets have been validated or characterized at the molecular level, and little is known about the biochemical pathways necessary for parasite survival. Current treatments of encephalitis due to B. mandrillaris lack efficacy, leading to case fatality rates above 90%. Using our recently published methodology to discover potential drugs against pathogenic amoebas, we screened a collection of 85 compounds with known antiparasitic activity and identified 59 compounds that impacted the growth of Balamuthia trophozoites at concentrations below 220 µM. Since there is no fully annotated genome or proteome of B. mandrillaris, we sequenced and assembled its transcriptome from a high-throughput RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) experiment and located the coding sequences of the genes potentially targeted by the growth inhibitors from our compound screens. We determined the sequence of 17 of these target genes and obtained expression clones for 15 that we validated by direct sequencing. These will be used in the future in combination with the identified hits in structure guided drug discovery campaigns to develop new approaches for the treatment of Balamuthia infections.

SUBMITTER: Phan I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8569187 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Json Xml

Similar Datasets

Balamuthia mandrillaris

Project description:Balamuthia mandrillaris overview

| PRJNA292468 | ENA

Diagnosing Balamuthia mandrillaris Encephalitis With Metagenomic Deep Sequencing.

Project description:ObjectiveIdentification of a particular cause of meningoencephalitis can be challenging owing to the myriad bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites that can produce overlapping clinical phenotypes, frequently delaying diagnosis and therapy. Metagenomic deep sequencing (MDS) approaches to infectious disease diagnostics are known for their ability to identify unusual or novel viruses and thus are well suited for investigating possible etiologies of meningoencephalitis.MethodsWe present the case of a 74-year-old woman with endophthalmitis followed by meningoencephalitis. MDS of her cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was performed to identify an infectious agent.ResultsSequences aligning to Balamuthia mandrillaris ribosomal RNA genes were identified in the CSF by MDS. Polymerase chain reaction subsequently confirmed the presence of B. mandrillaris in CSF, brain tissue, and vitreous fluid from the patient's infected eye. B. mandrillaris serology and immunohistochemistry for free-living amoebas on the brain biopsy tissue were positive.InterpretationThe diagnosis was made using MDS after the patient had been hospitalized for several weeks and subjected to costly and invasive testing. MDS is a powerful diagnostic tool with the potential for rapid and unbiased pathogen identification leading to early therapeutic targeting.

| S-EPMC4624031 | biostudies-literature

Balamuthia mandrillaris strain:ITSON01

Project description:Balamuthia mandrillaris strain:ITSON01 Genome sequencing and assembly

| PRJNA975899 | ENA

Balamuthia mandrillaris strain:2046

Project description:Balamuthia mandrillaris strain:2046 Genome sequencing and assembly

| PRJNA286157 | ENA

Fatal Balamuthia mandrillaris Meningoencephalitis in the Netherlands after Travel to The Gambia.

Project description: Not available

| S-EPMC4412220 | biostudies-literature

<i>Balamuthia mandrillaris</i>: An opportunistic, free-living ameba - An updated review.

Project description:Balamuthia mandrillaris is an opportunistic, free-living ameba that is pathogenic to humans. It has a worldwide distribution but is mainly detected in warmer regions. Balamuthia infections are rare but have been reported in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals of all ages. B. mandrillaris can enter through wounds on the skin or the nose and cause cutaneous lesions and the usually fatal Balamuthia amebic encephalitis (BAE). Infection usually spreads from the lungs or through nerve fibers, and attacks the central nervous system, forming granulomatous lesions and necrosis in the brain. Balamuthia infection is usually chronic, and patients initially present with nonspecific symptoms, including headache, nausea, myalgia, and low-grade fever. As the disease progresses, the patient becomes paralyzed and comatose, often leading to death. Lack of knowledge of predisposing factors, specific treatment, and standardized detection tools have resulted in a nearly cent percent fatality rate. Although only about 200 cases have been reported worldwide since its characterization in the 1990s, the number of reported cases has increased over the years. BAE is an emerging disease and a major health concern. Few patients have survived Balamuthia infections with antimicrobial treatment that has largely been empirical. Early diagnosis is the key and requires familiarity with the disease and a high degree of suspicion on the part of the diagnostician. There are currently no specific treatment and prevention recommendations. This review highlights our current understanding of B. mandrillaris in terms of its pathogenicity, genomics, and novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches against BAE infections.

| S-EPMC8579774 | biostudies-literature

Presence of Balamuthia mandrillaris in hot springs from Mazandaran province, northern Iran.

Project description:Balamuthia mandrillaris is an opportunistic free-living amoeba that has been reported to cause cutaneous lesions and Balamuthia amoebic encephalitis. The biology and environmental distribution of B. mandrillaris is still poorly understood and isolation of this pathogen from the environment is a rare event. Previous studies have reported that the presence of B. mandrillaris in the environment in Iran may be common. However, no clinical cases have been reported so far in this country. In the present study, a survey was conducted in order to evaluate the presence of B. mandrillaris in hot-spring samples of northern Iran. A total of 66 water samples were analysed using morphological and molecular tools. Positive samples by microscopy were confirmed by performing PCR amplification of the 16S rRNA gene of B. mandrillaris. Sequencing of the positive amplicons was also performed to confirm morphological data. Two of the 66 collected water samples were positive for B. mandrillaris after morphological and molecular identification. Interestingly, both positive hot springs had low pH values and temperatures ranging from 32 °C to 42 °C. Many locals and tourists use both hot springs due to their medicinal properties and thus contact with water bodies containing the organism increases the likelihood of infection. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the isolation of B. mandrillaris from hot-spring sources related to human activity. Therefore, B. mandrillaris should be considered as a possible causative agent if cases of encephalitis are suspected following immersion in hot springs in addition to Acanthamoeba and Naegleria.

| S-EPMC9150520 | biostudies-literature

Balamuthia mandrillaris strain:CDC-V039

Project description:Balamuthia mandrillaris strain:CDC-V039 Genome sequencing and assembly

| PRJNA286069 | ENA

<i>Balamuthia mandrillaris</i> infection in China: a retrospective report of 28 cases.

Project description:Balamuthia mandrillaris infection is a rare and fatal disease. We have recorded 28 cases of Balamuthia mandrillaris infection during the past 20 years. Eighteen patients (64%) were male and 10 (36%) were female. Patient age ranged from 3 to 74 (mean, 27) years. Patient locations were distributed among 12 Provinces in China. Twenty-seven (96%) patients lived in rural areas, and 17 (61%) patients reported a history of trauma before the appearance of skin lesions. All cases presented with skin lesions as the primary symptom, and 16 (57%) cases developed encephalitis. Histopathology of skin lesions revealed granulomatous changes with histiocytes, lymphocytes, and plasma cells infiltration. Amebas were identified in all cases with immunohistochemical staining. Follow-up information was available in 27 (96%) cases. Fifteen (56%) patients died due to encephalitis and 12 (44%) were free of disease after treatment. Our results show that the clinical characteristics of Balamuthia mandrillaris infection in China are very different from those in the US. Infection of traumatized skin may play an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease in China. Encephalitis usually develops 3-4 years after skin lesions in Chinese cases. Patients with only skin lesions have a higher cure rate than patients with encephalitis.

| S-EPMC7599003 | biostudies-literature

First report of the isolation of Balamuthia mandrillaris in the northern region of Japan.

Project description:Balamuthia mandrillaris is a free-living amoeba that lives in soil and water near human settlements. B. mandrillaris was first isolated from a mandrill baboon that died at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Park in California in 1986, and the first human infection was reported in 1990. Although reported B. mandrillaris infections are often not properly characterized, it appears that B. mandrillaris invades the living body from the soil and water, either via a wound or the nasal cavity. Most confirmed infections have originated in South and North America. B. mandrillaris inhabits warm climates and is recognized as a pathogen in warm areas such as desert climates and tropical climates. B. mandrillaris has been isolated from environmental samples since 2000, most of which originated from warm areas such as step climates, tropical climates, and desert climates. However, B. mandrillaris may survive in diverse environments, although fewer granulomatous amebic encephalitis patients have been reported in colder Japanese and Northern European regions. In the present study, we conducted a survey of 13 soil samples in Aomori Prefecture located at the northernmost tip of Japan Honshu and successfully isolated one strain of B. mandrillaris from soil for the first time in Japan. In addition, B. mandrillaris gene was detected from several soils. This confirms that B. mandrillaris is capable of spreading to a wider climatic region.

| S-EPMC6105249 | biostudies-literature

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

OmicsDI is an Elixir interoperability service. Learn more ›

Tweets

OmicsDI Databases

PRIDE
PeptideAtlas
MassIVE
JPOST Repository
Physiome Model Repository

EGA
EVA
ENA
LINCS
PAXDB
Cell Collective

MetaboLights
Metabolomics Workbench
MetabolomeExpress
GNPS
BioModels
FAIRDOMHub

ArrayExpress
dbGaP
ExpressionAtlas
GEO
NODE

Information

Databases
Help
API
Contact us
Code on GitHub
Terms of use
Submit Data