Nitric oxide production and nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity in Naegleria fowleri

Free-living ameba Naegleria fowleri produces an acute and fatal infectious disease called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), whose pathophysiological mechanism is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in PAM. Although NO has a cytotoxic effect on various parasites, it is produced by others as part of the pathology, as is the case with Entamoeba histolytica. To test for the production of NO, we analyzed whether antibodies against mammalian NO synthase isoforms (neuronal, inducible, and endothelial) presented immunoreactivity to N. fowleri proteins. We found that the trophozoites produced NO in vitro. The Western blot results, which showed N. fowleri trophozoites, contained proteins that share epitopes with the three described mammalian NOS, but have relative molecular weights different than those described in the literature, suggesting that N. fowleri may contain undescribed NOS isoforms. Moreover, we found that trophozoites reacted to the NOS2 antibody, in amebic cultures as well as in the mouse brain infected with N. fowleri, suggesting that nitric oxide may participate in the pathogenesis of PAM. Further research aimed at determining whether N. fowleri contains active novel NOS isoforms could lead to the design of new therapies against this parasite.