Virology and Microbiology

Entamoeba histolytica is a human parasite capable of invading intestinal mucosa and spreading to other organs. It is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. E. histolytica uses diverse human proteins as sources of iron. Iron is an important factor for E. histolytica growth and virulence. In higher eukaryotes, the expression of ironregulated genes is mediated by RNA-protein interactions between Iron Responsive Elements (IREs) and cytoplasmic Iron Regulatory Proteins (IRPs). In this work, we show evidence of IREs in some amoebic virulence mRNAs that are capable of binding cytoplasmic proteins, supporting the presence of an IRE/IRP-like mechanism.