Amoeba Mystery Known

June 15, 2008 1:09 p.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - Scientist have cracked open the mystery of how an amoeba escapes detection by the body's immune system.

Researchers in the United States said that amoeba purge itself of chemicals that would mark it as a foreign object detectable to the immune system.

Early researchers have pointed to a chemical known as "rhomboid enzyme" which helps the amoeba attack the human host.

A study published in the journal Genes and Development suggests similar tactics are used by other creatures, including malaria parasites, to help it enter human cells undetected.

Amoeba is a major cause of dysentery, which, although curable, leads to deaths. Researchers hope that the findings could help in the creation of vaccine.

Often without symptoms, some people may carry the parasite for weeks to even years.