Novel Drug Screening Assay for Acanthamoeba castellanii and the Anti-Amoebic Effect of Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors

Acanthamoeba castellanii is an amoeba that inhabits soil and water in every part of the world. Acanthamoeba infection of the eye causes keratitis and can lead to a loss of vision. Current treatment options are only moderately effective, have multiple harmful side effects, and are tedious. In our study, we developed a novel drug screening method to define the inhibitory properties of potential new drugs against A. castellanii in vitro. We found that the clinically used carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, acetazolamide, ethoxzolamide, and dorzolamide, have promising antiamoebic properties.