AJTMH Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 78(6), 2008, pp. 922-923
Copyright © 2008 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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SHORT REPORT


Differences in Complement-mediated Killing of Entamoeba histolytica Between Men and Women—An Explanation for the Increased Susceptibility of Men to Invasive Amebiasis?

Margaret Snow, Minghe Chen, Jian Guo{dagger}, John Atkinson, AND Samuel L. Stanley, Jr.*
Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri

 

ABSTRACT

Men are more than 7 times more likely to develop amebic liver abscess or amebic dysentery caused by Entamoeba histolytica than women. Because the complement system could play a key role in controlling amebiasis, we determined whether serum from men and women differ in the ability to kill amebic trophozoites. We found that serum from women was significantly more effective in killing E. histolytica trophozoites than serum from men, and this killing was complement dependent. Our results provide a possible explanation for the differential susceptibility of men and women to amebic liver abscess and amebic colitis.

Received November 21, 2007. Accepted for publication February 17, 2008.

Acknowledgments: The authors thank Xioachun Zhang for outstanding technical assistance and Erin Melhop for excellent discussions. This work is dedicated to the memory of Jian Guo, an outstanding colleague and friend.

Financial support: This work was supported by NIH Grants AI30084 and U54AI057160, the Midwest Regional Center of Excellence in Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research.

* Address correspondence to Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., Department of Medicine, Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8051, Saint Louis, MO 63110. E-mail: stanleys{at}wusm.wustl.edu

{dagger} Deceased.

Authors’ addresses: Margaret Snow, Minghe Chen, and Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8051, Saint Louis, MO 63110, Tel: 314-362-1070, Fax: 314-362-3525, E-mails: Maggiesnow{at}sbcglobal.net, mchen{at}id.wustl.edu, and stanleys{at}wusm.wustl.edu. John Atkinson, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8045, Saint Louis, MO 63110, Tel: 314-362-8391, Fax: 314-362-1366, E-mail: jatkinso{at}im.wustl.edu.






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