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Acanthamoeba sp.

PRA-84

Product category
Protists
Product type
Parasitic protozoan
Classification
Amoebozoa, Acanthamoebidae
Strain designation
CDC:V235
Isolation source
Corneal biopsy
Product format
Frozen
Storage conditions
-80°C or colder for 1 week, vapor phase of liquid nitrogen for long-term storage
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Documentation

ATCC determines the biosafety level of a material based on our risk assessment as guided by the current edition of Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is your responsibility to understand the hazards associated with the material per your organization’s policies and procedures as well as any other applicable regulations as enforced by your local or national agencies.

ATCC highly recommends that appropriate personal protective equipment is always used when handling vials. For cultures that require storage in liquid nitrogen, it is important to note that some vials may leak when submersed in liquid nitrogen and will slowly fill with liquid nitrogen. Upon thawing, the conversion of the liquid nitrogen back to its gas phase may result in the vial exploding or blowing off its cap with dangerous force creating flying debris. Unless necessary, ATCC recommends that these cultures be stored in the vapor phase of liquid nitrogen rather than submersed in liquid nitrogen.

Detailed product information

Characteristics

Genotype
T4

Handling information

Medium
Temperature
25°C
Culture system
Axenic
Handling procedure
Storage and Culture InitiationFrozen ampules packed in dry ice should either be thawed immediately or stored in liquid nitrogen. If liquid nitrogen storage facilities are not available, frozen ampules may be stored at or below -70°C for approximately one week. Do not under any circumstance store frozen ampules at refrigerator freezer temperatures (generally -20°C). Storage of frozen material at this temperature will result in the death of the culture.
  1. To thaw a frozen ampule, place it in a 35°C water bath such that the lip of the ampule remains above the water line. Thawing time is approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Do not agitate the ampule. Do not leave ampule in water bath after thawed.
  2. Immediately after thawing, aseptically transfer contents to a T-25 tissue culture flask or 16 x 125 mm plastic test tube containing 5 mL ATCC Medium 712.
  3. Screw the cap on tightly and incubate the tube or flask at 25°C.
Culture maintenance
  1. When the culture is at or near peak density, vigorously agitate the culture.
  2. Transfer approximately 0.25 mL to a fresh tube or flask containing 5 mL of fresh ATCC medium 712. 
  3. Screw the caps on tightly and incubate at 25°C (incubate test tubes at a 15° horizontal slant).
  4. The amoebae will form an almost continuous sheet of cells on the bottom surface of the flask or test tube.  Repeat steps 1-3 at  5-7 d intervals.
Cryopreservation
  1. To achieve the best results, set up cultures with several different inocula (e.g. 0.25 mL, 0.5 mL, 1.0 mL). Harvest cultures and pool when the culture that received the lowest inoculum is at or near peak density.
  2. If the cell concentration exceeds the required level, do not centrifuge, but adjust the concentration to between 2 x 106 and 2 x 107 cysts/mL with fresh medium. If the concentration is too low, centrifuge at 600 x g for 5 min and resuspend the pellet in the volume of fresh medium required to yield the desired concentration.
  3. While cells are centrifuging, prepare a 15% (v/v) solution of sterile DMSO as follows: Add the required volume of DMSO to a glass screw-capped test tube and place it in an ice bath. Allow the DMSO to solidify. Add the required volume of refrigerated medium. Dissolve the DMSO by inverting the tube several times.
    *NOTE: If the DMSO solution is not prepared on ice, an exothermic reaction will occur that may precipitate certain components of the medium.
  4. Mix the cell preparation and the DMSO in equal portions. Thus, the final concentration will be between 106 and 107 cells/mL and 7.5% (v/v) DMSO. The time from the mixing of the cell preparation and DMSO stock solution before the freezing process is begun should be no less than 15 min and no longer than 60 min.
  5. Dispense in 0.5 mL aliquots into 1.0 - 2.0 mL sterile plastic screw-capped cryules (special plastic vials for cryopreservation).
  6. Place the vials in a controlled rate freezing unit. From room temperature cool at -1°C/min to -40°C. If the freezing unit can compensate for the heat of fusion, maintain rate at -1°C/min through the heat of fusion. At -40°C plunge into liquid nitrogen. Alternatively, place the vials in a Nalgene 1°C freezing apparatus. Place the apparatus at -80°C for 1.5 to 2 hours and then plunge ampules into liquid nitrogen. (The cooling rate in this apparatus is approximately -1°C/min)
  7. The frozen preparations are stored in either the vapor or liquid phase of a nitrogen freezer.
  8. To establish a culture from the frozen state, place an ampule in a water bath set at 35°C (2-3 min). Immerse the vial just sufficiently to cover the frozen material. Do not agitate the vial.
  9. Immediately after thawing, aseptically remove the contents of the ampule and inoculate into 5 mL of fresh ATCC medium 712 in a T-25 tissue culture flask or plastic 16 x 125 mm screw-capped test tube. Incubate at 25°C.

History

Deposited as
Acanthamoeba sp.
Depositors
GS Visvesvara
Chain of custody
ATCC <-- GS Visvesvara

Legal disclaimers

Intended use
This product is intended for laboratory research use only. It is not intended for any animal or human therapeutic use, any human or animal consumption, or any diagnostic use.
Warranty

The product is provided 'AS IS' and the viability of ATCC® products is warranted for 30 days from the date of shipment, provided that the customer has stored and handled the product according to the information included on the product information sheet, website, and Certificate of Analysis. For living cultures, ATCC lists the media formulation and reagents that have been found to be effective for the product. While other unspecified media and reagents may also produce satisfactory results, a change in the ATCC and/or depositor-recommended protocols may affect the recovery, growth, and/or function of the product. If an alternative medium formulation or reagent is used, the ATCC warranty for viability is no longer valid.  Except as expressly set forth herein, no other warranties of any kind are provided, express or implied, including, but not limited to, any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, manufacture according to cGMP standards, typicality, safety, accuracy, and/or noninfringement.

Disclaimers

This product is intended for laboratory research use only. It is not intended for any animal or human therapeutic use, any human or animal consumption, or any diagnostic use. Any proposed commercial use is prohibited without a license from ATCC.

While ATCC uses reasonable efforts to include accurate and up-to-date information on this product sheet, ATCC makes no warranties or representations as to its accuracy. Citations from scientific literature and patents are provided for informational purposes only. ATCC does not warrant that such information has been confirmed to be accurate or complete and the customer bears the sole responsibility of confirming the accuracy and completeness of any such information.

This product is sent on the condition that the customer is responsible for and assumes all risk and responsibility in connection with the receipt, handling, storage, disposal, and use of the ATCC product including without limitation taking all appropriate safety and handling precautions to minimize health or environmental risk. As a condition of receiving the material, the customer agrees that any activity undertaken with the ATCC product and any progeny or modifications will be conducted in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines. This product is provided 'AS IS' with no representations or warranties whatsoever except as expressly set forth herein and in no event shall ATCC, its parents, subsidiaries, directors, officers, agents, employees, assigns, successors, and affiliates be liable for indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages of any kind in connection with or arising out of the customer's use of the product. While reasonable effort is made to ensure authenticity and reliability of materials on deposit, ATCC is not liable for damages arising from the misidentification or misrepresentation of such materials.

Please see the material transfer agreement (MTA) for further details regarding the use of this product. The MTA is available at www.atcc.org.

Permits & Restrictions

Import Permit for the State of Hawaii

If shipping to the U.S. state of Hawaii, you must provide either an import permit or documentation stating that an import permit is not required. We cannot ship this item until we receive this documentation. Contact the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA), Plant Industry Division, Plant Quarantine Branch to determine if an import permit is required.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PERMITS AND RESTRICTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions

References

Curated Citations

Sriram R, et al. Survival of Acanthamoeba cysts after desiccation for more than 20 years. J. Clin. Microbiol. 46: 4045-4048, 2008. PubMed: 18923013

Booton GC, et al. Identification and distribution of Acanthamoeba species genotypes associated with nonkeratitis infections. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 1689-1693, 2005. PubMed: 15814986

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