Abstract
Acid phosphatase activity has been demonstrated in Endamoeba histolytica of human origin grown in artificial culture media or obtained by rectal aspiration from an experimentally infected animal(1). The present report describes the results obtained when tissue sections of amebic lesions were submitted to the acid phosphatase test.
Materials and methods. Amebic colitis was experimentally produced in guinea pigs by intra-ileal inoculation with large numbers (over 200,000) of amebic trophozoites (Tulane strain XXII) grown in Balamuth's medium(2). Four to 7 days after inoculation the animals were sacrificed and portions of cecum with extensive amebic lesions were selected for study. Gomori's histochemical technic for the demonstration of acid phosphatase in tissue(3) was used throughout the experiment. Duplicate sections submitted to identical procedure except for the absence of the glycerophosphate substrate from the incubating solution, served as controls. All sections were incubated overnight.
Results. Very heavy precipitate occurred in and around the areas of amebic invasion, (Fig. 1), revealing that intense acid phosphatase activity was present in those regions.
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