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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Legionella pneumophila Outer Membrane Vesicles: Isolation and Analysis of Their Pro-inflammatory Potential on Macrophages
Published on: February 22, 2017
Long-term survival of Legionella pneumophila associated with Acanthamoeba castellanii vesicles
Sabrina Bouyer1, Christine Imbert, Marie-Hélène Rodier
1Laboratoire de Parasitologie et Mycologie Médicale, CHU La Milétrie, 86021 Poitiers Cedex, France.
Abstract:
Legionella pneumophila, the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease, is ubiquitously found in aquatic environments, associated with free living amoebae. Trophozoite forms of the genus Acanthamoeba have been shown to support the intracellular growth of Legionella while it has been proposed that cyst forms are related to survival in harsh environments. This underlines that amoebae are of primary importance in Legionella spreading. In this study, we followed the survival of L. pneumophila Lens over 6 months in a poor medium, with or without Acanthamoeba castellanii. The results demonstrated that L. pneumophila Lens could survive for at least 6 months in association with A. castellanii and that cultivable bacteria are to be found within expelled vesicles rather than within cysts. Our findings suggest that vesicles might be further studied in order to elucidate their production and their role in the environmental spreading of Legionella.
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