A Search for Anti-Naegleria fowleri Agents Based on Competitive Exclusion Behavior of Microorganisms in Natural Aquatic Environments

Abstract

Naegleria fowleri causes deadly primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) in humans. Humans obtain the infection by inhaling water or dust contaminated with amebae into the nostrils, wherefrom the pathogen migrates via the olfactory nerve to cause brain inflammation and necrosis. Current PAM treatment is ineffective and toxic. Seeking new effective and less toxic drugs for the environmental control of the amoeba population to reduce human exposure is logical for the management of N. fowleri infection. On the basis of the concept of competitive exclusion, where environmental microorganisms compete for resources by secreting factors detrimental to other organisms, we tested cell-free culture supernatants (CFSs) of three bacteria isolated from a fresh water canal, i.e., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas otitidis, and Enterobacter cloacae, were tested against N. fowleri. The CFSs inhibited growth and caused morphological changes in N. fowleri. At low dose, N. fowleri trophozoites exposed to P. aeruginosa pyocyanin were seen to shrink and become rounded, while at high dose, the trophozoites were fragmented. While the precise molecular mechanisms of pyocyanin and products of P. otitidis and E. cloacae that also exert anti-N. fowleri activity await clarification. Our findings suggest that P. aeruginosa pyocyanin may have a role in the control of amphizoic N. fowleri in the environment.