Pathophysiology of amoebiasis

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