摘要：

This chapter focuses on the metabolism of typical Entamoeba histolytica originally isolated from human infections. It presents evidence that E. histolytica, grown axenically, have a complete but circumscribed, metabolic capability; and that when living in contact with other cells, they have a faculty for expanding their metabolic competence. The chapter addresses the possible modes of transfer of activities from associated cells to the amoeba and evidence that pathogenicity is thereby influenced. It also considers growth factors and nutrients, metabolic regulation, and speculative views on the ways the metabolism of amoebae may shed light on primitive metabolic pathways. The chapter illustrates allosteric modulation or some system for the regulation of amoebic glycolytic enzymes. However, the results of probing for regulatory features have been disappointing. They have yielded only thermodynamic explanations of enzyme regulation—that the rate of a reversible reaction slows as equilibrium is approached. An understanding of the pathogenicity of the organism is likely to come from the investigation of the interactions among amoebae, the host, and the associate organisms of the gut.

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