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Original Article
The anti-amoebic activity of Pinus densiflora leaf extract against the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri
Hương Giang Lê, Woong Kim, Jung-Mi Kang, Tuấn Cường Võ, Won Gi Yoo, Hyeonsook Cheong, Byoung-Kuk Na
Parasites Hosts Dis 2024;62(2):169-179.
Published online May 27, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3347/PHD.23103
Naegleria fowleri invades the brain and causes a fatal primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Despite its high mortality rate of approximately 97%, an effective therapeutic drug for PAM has not been developed. Approaches with miltefosine, amphotericin B, and other antimicrobials have been clinically attempted to treat PAM, but their therapeutic efficacy remains unclear. The development of an effective and safe therapeutic drug for PAM is urgently needed. In this study, we investigated the anti-amoebic activity of Pinus densiflora leaf extract (PLE) against N. fowleri. PLE induced significant morphological changes in N. fowleri trophozoites, resulting in the death of the amoeba. The IC50 of PLE on N. fowleri was 62.3±0.95 μg/ml. Alternatively, PLE did not significantly affect the viability of the rat glial cell line C6. Transcriptome analysis revealed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between PLE-treated and non-treated amoebae. A total of 5,846 DEGs were identified, of which 2,189 were upregulated, and 3,657 were downregulated in the PLE-treated amoebae. The DEGs were categorized into biological process (1,742 genes), cellular component (1,237 genes), and molecular function (846 genes) based on the gene ontology analysis, indicating that PLE may have dramatically altered the biological and cellular functions of the amoeba and contributed to their death. These results suggest that PLE has anti-N. fowleri activity and may be considered as a potential candidate for the development of therapeutic drugs for PAM. It may also be used as a supplement compound to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of drugs currently used to treat PAM.

Citations

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  • A xanthone O-glucoside isolated from Iris setosa Pall. ex Link exhibits promising anti-amoebic activity against the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri
    Hương Giang Lê, Buyng Su Hwang, Ji-Su Choi, Yong Tae Jeong, Tuấn Cường Võ, Minkyoung Cho, Yeonchul Hong, Jeong Ho Kim, Young Taek Oh, Byoung-Kuk Na
    Phytomedicine.2025; 147: 157199.     CrossRef
  • From nose to neurons: The lethal journey of the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri
    Arindam Mitra, Débora Brito Goulart
    The Microbe.2025; 8: 100537.     CrossRef
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