{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,3]],"date-time":"2026-04-03T17:45:25Z","timestamp":1775238325644,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,6]],"date-time":"2023-02-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1675641600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Research Foundation funded by the Ministry of Science, Information and Communication Technology","award":["NRF-2020R1A2C10099751"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NRF-2020R1A2C10099751"]}]},{"name":"Research institute for Convergence of biomedical science and technology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>As the number of contact lens users increases, contact lens induced corneal infection is becoming more common. <jats:italic>Acanthamoeba<\/jats:italic> keratitis (AK) is a type of those which is caused by <jats:italic>Acanthamoeba<\/jats:italic> species, and may cause severe ocular inflammation and visual loss. We evaluated whether <jats:italic>Torreya nucifera<\/jats:italic> (<jats:italic>T<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>nucifera)<\/jats:italic> extract has an anti-amoebic effect and studied its mechanism of action on <jats:italic>Acanthamoeba lugdunensis (A<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>lugdunensis)<\/jats:italic>. Cell viability was tested using the alamarBlue<jats:sup>\u2122<\/jats:sup> method, and the cell death mechanism was confirmed using the Tali<jats:sup>\u00ae<\/jats:sup> Apoptosis Kit. The SYTOX<jats:sup>\u00ae<\/jats:sup> Green assay was performed to check the plasma membrane permeability. The JC-1 dye was used to measure the mitochondrial membrane potential. A CellTiter-Glo<jats:sup>\u00ae<\/jats:sup> Luminescent Assay was used to measure the adenosine-triphosphate (ATP) level. Morphological changes in the mitochondria were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cystic changes and a decrease in cell viability after treatment with <jats:italic>T<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>nucifera<\/jats:italic> were observed. Both apoptotic and necrotic cells were found in the Tali<jats:sup>\u00ae<\/jats:sup> Apoptosis assay. There was no significant difference in plasma membrane permeability between the control and <jats:italic>T<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>nucifera<\/jats:italic> treated groups. The collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential and reduced ATP level in <jats:italic>A<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>lugdunensis<\/jats:italic> was confirmed in the groups treated with <jats:italic>T<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>nucifera<\/jats:italic>. Structural damage to the mitochondria was observed on TEM in the groups treated with <jats:italic>T<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>nucifera<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>T<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>nucifera<\/jats:italic> showed an anti-amoebic effect on <jats:italic>A<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>lugdunensis<\/jats:italic>, by inducing the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. Thus, it could be a future therapeutic agent for AK.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0281141","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,6]],"date-time":"2023-02-06T18:26:14Z","timestamp":1675707974000},"page":"e0281141","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["The amoebicidal effect of Torreya nucifera extract on Acanthamoeba lugdunensis"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Min Seung","family":"Kang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sangyoon","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Da Som","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hak Sun","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4927-2854","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ji Eun","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0281141.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1051\/parasite\/2015010","article-title":"An update on Acanthamoeba keratitis: diagnosis, pathogenesis and treatment","volume":"22","author":"J Lorenzo-Morales","year":"2015","journal-title":"Parasite"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116","DOI":"10.1111\/opo.12752","article-title":"Acanthamoeba keratitis: a review of biology, pathophysiology and epidemiology","volume":"41","author":"AG de Lacerda","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ophthalmic Physiol Opt"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref003","first-page":"673","article-title":"Anti-proliferative and apoptosis-inducible activity of labdane and abietane diterpenoids from the pulp of Torreya nucifera in HeLa cells","volume":"3","author":"SP Chen","year":"2010","journal-title":"Mol Med Rep"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"167","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jep.2016.05.008","article-title":"Src\/Syk\/IRAK1-targeted anti-inflammatory action of Torreya nucifera butanol fraction in lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW264.7 cells","volume":"188","author":"SH Kim","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Ethnopharmacol"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.3923\/ijp.2009.37.43","article-title":"Torreya nucifera essential oil inhibits skin pathogen growth and lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory effects","volume":"5","author":"W Yoon","year":"2009","journal-title":"Int J Pharmacol"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7940","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bmc.2010.09.035","article-title":"Biflavonoids from Torreya nucifera displaying SARS-CoV 3CL(pro) inhibition","volume":"18","author":"YB Ryu","year":"2010","journal-title":"Bioorg Med Chem"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref007","first-page":"1","article-title":"Biology and pathogenesis of Acanthamoeba","volume":"5","author":"R Siddiqui","year":"2012","journal-title":"Parasites Vectors"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.71.1.20-28.2005","article-title":"Amoebae as training grounds for intracellular bacterials pathogens","volume":"71","author":"M Molmeret","year":"2005","journal-title":"Appl Environ Microbiol"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1418","DOI":"10.1167\/iovs.03-0433","article-title":"Laboratory investigation of Acanthamoeba lugdunensis from patients with keratitis","volume":"45","author":"HS Yu","year":"2004","journal-title":"Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1199","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.40.4.1199-1206.2002","article-title":"Mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and 18S small-subunit ribosomal DNA PCR-RFLP analyses of Acanthamoeba isolated from contact lens storage cases of residents in southwestern Korea","volume":"40","author":"HH Kong","year":"2002","journal-title":"J Clin Microbiol"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.3341\/kjo.1997.11.1.39","article-title":"Species identification and molecular characterization of Acanthamoeba isolated from contact lens paraphernalia","volume":"11","author":"SM Lee","year":"1997","journal-title":"Korean J Ophthalmol"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.3347\/kjp.2001.39.2.161","article-title":"Genetic analyses of Acanthamoeba isolates from contact lens storage cases of students in Seoul, Korea","volume":"39","author":"HS Yu","year":"2001","journal-title":"Korean J Parasitol"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.3347\/kjp.1998.36.2.69","article-title":"Subgenus classification of Acanthamoeba by riboprinting","volume":"36","author":"DI Chung","year":"1998","journal-title":"Korean J Parasitol"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"498","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1550-7408.1996.tb04510.x","article-title":"Subgenus systematics of Acanthamoeba: four nuclear 18S rDNA sequence types","volume":"43","author":"RJ Gast","year":"1996","journal-title":"J Eukaryot Microbiol"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"45","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1550-7408.1998.tb05068.x","article-title":"The evolutionary history of the genus Acanthamoeba and the identification of eight new 18S rRNA gene sequence types","volume":"45","author":"DR Stothard","year":"1998","journal-title":"J Eukaryot Microbiol"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref016","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1726","DOI":"10.3390\/biology11121726","article-title":"The Activity of Polyhomoarginine against Acanthamoeba castellanii","volume":"11","author":"HK Peguda","year":"2022","journal-title":"Biology"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref017","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"509","DOI":"10.3341\/jkos.2017.58.5.509","article-title":"Amoebicidal Effect of Nephrite-containing Contact Lens Storage Case","volume":"57","author":"JW Jeong","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Korean Ophthalmol Soc"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref018","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"713","DOI":"10.4014\/jmb\/1903.03009","article-title":"Antidiabetic Drugs and Their Nanoconjugates Repurposed as Novel Antimicrobial Agents against Acanthamoeba castellanii","volume":"29","author":"A Anwar","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Microbiol Biotechnol"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref019","first-page":"274","article-title":"Comparison of antioxidant activities and effective compounds in Korean and Chinese Torreya seeds","volume":"50","author":"SB Kim","year":"2018","journal-title":"Korean J Food Sci Technol"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref020","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3746\/jkfn.2009.38.1.001","article-title":"The Antioxidative Activities of Torreya nucifera Seed Extracts","volume":"38","author":"HS Jeon","year":"2009","journal-title":"J Korean Soc Food Sci Nutr"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref021","first-page":"41","article-title":"The antioxidant activities and neuroprotective effects of hot water extracts from torreyae semen","volume":"32","author":"SI Lee","year":"2017","journal-title":"Korean J Herbol"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0281141.ref022","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"687","DOI":"10.1271\/bbb.60.687","article-title":"Purification and Characterization of \u03b1-D-Mannosidase from the Seeds of Kaya, Torreya nucifera","volume":"60","author":"T Shiroo","year":"1996","journal-title":"Biosci Biotech Biochem"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref023","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"603","DOI":"10.18632\/aging.100934","article-title":"Apoptosis as anticancer mechanism: function and dysfunction of its modulators and targeted therapeutic strategies","volume":"8","author":"G Pistritto","year":"2016","journal-title":"Aging (Albany NY)"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref024","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"93","DOI":"10.1038\/s41419-019-1370-2","article-title":"Cell death pathways in pathogenic trypanosomatids: lessons of (over)kill","volume":"10","author":"RFS Menna-Barreto","year":"2019","journal-title":"Cell Death Dis"},{"key":"pone.0281141.ref025","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"144","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpddr.2021.02.007","article-title":"In vitro validation of the amoebicidal activity of commercial eye drops as second activity","volume":"15","author":"O Chiboub","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist"}],"updated-by":[{"DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0294194","type":"correction","label":"Correction","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,3]],"date-time":"2023-11-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1698969600000}}],"container-title":["PLOS ONE"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0281141","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,6]],"date-time":"2023-02-06T18:26:47Z","timestamp":1675708007000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0281141"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Yi","family":"Cao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"editor","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,6]]},"references-count":25,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,6]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0281141","relation":{"correction":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0294194","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,6]]}}}