
Encephalitozoon intestinalis

Encephalitozoon intestinalis is a parasite. It can cause microsporidiosis.
It is notable as having one of the smallest genome among known eukaryotic organisms, containing only 2.25 million base pairs. Its genome was completely sequenced in 2010.
"E. intestinalis" originally named Septata intestinalis, was reclassified based on morphologic, antigenic
and molecular similarities with other species of the genus Encephalitozoon. Recently, Some domestic 
and wild animals have been found to be naturally infected with "E. intestinalis" and some other 
microsporidian species.
"E. intestinalis" is transmitted in contaminated water. It causes Gastro-Intestinal tract infection which 
subsequently leads to diarrhea and circulates to the ocular, genitourinary and respiratory tracts.
Research has proven that "E. intestinalis" infection can increase host cell nuclear mutation rate.
Disease.
Microsporidia are obligate intracellular opportunistic fungi that cause significant pathology in 
immunocompromised (simply put: having an impaired immune system) hosts. Like other 
obligate intracellular pathogens, "microsporidia" exert significant stress on infected host cells. 
"Microsporidia" infection alters host cell cycle regulation and can lead to development of 
multinucleated host cells.
Genome.
Compared to "E. cuniculi" which encodes about 2000 massive genes at 2.9 Mbp, "E. intestinalis" had a reduced gene complement and genome size (2.3 Mbp) because of a high degree of host dependency. "E. intestinalis" lack large gene blocks of sequence in its subtelomeric regions unlike "E. 
cuniculi". However, "E. intestinalis" and "E. cuniculi" share a conserved gene content, order and density 
over most of their genomes which have similar GC content. They also contain the same 
complement of transfer RNAs and ribosomal RNAs.
Detection.
The assay is adaptable to the clinical laboratory and represents the first real‐time PCR assay 
designed to detect Encephalitozoon species. Melting temperature analysis of the amplicons
allows for the differentiation of three Encephalitozoon species (E. intestinalis, E. cuniculi, and E.hellem).
Prevention and Treatment.
Frequent washing of hands and limited exposure to animals is highly recommended especially for 
people with immunesystem deficiency. Treatment of Microsporidia can vary depending on the 
species involved. Intravenous fluid administration, electrolyte repletion, dietary and nutritional 
regimens can be helpful to patients with diarrhea while antiretroviral therapy can help improve 
immune system function.