Acanthamoeba castellanii: Endocytic Structures Involved in the Ingestion of Diverse Target Elements

Co-incubation of Acanthamoeba castellanii trophozoites with diverse target elements such as MDCK epithelial cells, hamster cornea, human erythrocytes, Acantamoeba cysts and bacteria clusters produced morphologically different endocytic structures. In general, up to three different types of endocytic structures were observed after the interaction between A. castellanii and the different target elements: large amoebostomes, slender cylindrical sucker-like channels and minute cell surface specializations, some of them with a pinch-off lytic action. These endocytic structures are used to lyse and ingest different targets in a contact-dependent mechanism.