Pathophysiology of amoebiasis

Few organisms are more aptly named than Entamoeba histolytica, an intestina l protozoan parasite that can lyse and destroy human tissue. Within the pas t four years, new models of E histolytica infection have begun to illuminat e how amoebic trophozoites cause intestinal disease and liver abscess, and have expanded our understanding of the remarkable killing ability of this p arasite. Here, I summarize recent work on the interactions between E histol ytica and human intestine, and between E. histolytica and hepatocytes, and discuss what these studies tell us about the role of inflammation and progr ammed cell death in the pathogenesis of amoebiasis.