Berlin 2012 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 17: Posters: Physics of Cells
BP 17.26: Poster
Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 17:30–19:30, Poster A
Contact formation between pathogenic amoebae and target cells — •Julia Reverey1, Saskia Viebig1, Matthias Leippe2, and Christine Selhuber-Unkel1 — 1Institute for Materials Science, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany — 2Zoological Institute, Am Botanischen Garten 1-9, 24118 Kiel, Germany
Acanthamoeba are parasitic amoebae, which can cause severe diseases, such as amoebic encephalitis and keratitis. They destroy certain target cells like nerve cells by an extracellular killing mechanism that is induced by the formation of a close contact between amoebae and nerve cells. In Acanthamoeba the target cell can be phagocytosed through membrane invaginations called food cups.
For a deeper understanding of this amoebic killing mechanism, Acanthamoeba are cocultured with nerve cells. Using high-speed live cell imaging, cocultures of amoebae and nerve cells are studied and the contact formation and related processes like phagocytosis are investigated. In order to mimic the contact formation, beads with different carbohydrate coatings are brought into contact with the amoebae. Also here live-cell imaging is used to achieve a better understanding of the interrelations between carbohydrate functionalization, contact formation and phagocytosis.