Variation in Campylobacter jejuni culturability in presence of Acanthamoeba castellanii Neff

Abstract

Free-living amoebae (FLA) are protozoa that are widely distributed in the environment mainly in water and soil related habitats. These amoebae have also been reported to be associated with some bacterial pathogens for humans such as Campylobacter spp. The species C. jejuni is the causative agent of about 90% of human campylobacteriosis cases worldwide and this disease may even end up in severe autoimmune sequelae as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). In this study, the interactions between the strain Acanthamoeba castellanii Neff and Campylobacter jejuni was investigated. Campylobacter jejuni was coincubated with Acanthamoeba castellanii Neff trophozoites at different temperatures, in order to evaluate the C. jejuni ability to grow in presence A. castellanii culture and Acanthamoeba Conditioned Medium (ACM). C. jejuni was coincubated with A. castellanii axenic culture at different temperatures in aerobic conditions. Our results revealed that bacteria were still cultivable (Blood Agar medium, at 37 °C, in microaerophilic atmosphere) after a 14 days C. jejuni – A. castellanii coculture, comparing with C. jejuni alone, which was only cultivable for 24 h.