Mycobacterium marinum Erp is a virulence determinant required for cell wall integrity and intracellular survival.
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The Mycobacterium tuberculosis exported repetitive protein (Erp) is a virulence determinant required for growth in cultured macrophages and in vivo. To better understand the role of Erp in Mycobacterium pathogenesis, we generated a mutation in the erp homologue of Mycobacterium marinum, a close genetic relative of M. tuberculosis. erp-deficient M. marinum was growth attenuated in cultured macrophage monolayers and during chronic granulomatous infection of leopard frogs, suggesting that Erp function is similarly required for the virulence of both M. tuberculosis and M. marinum. To pinpoint the step in infection at which Erp is required, we utilized a zebrafish embryo infection model that allows M. marinum infections to be visualized in real-time, comparing the erp-deficient strain to a DeltaRD1 mutant whose stage of attenuation was previously characterized in zebrafish embryos. A detailed microscopic examination of infected embryos revealed that bacteria lacking Erp were compromised very early in infection, failing to grow and/or survive upon phagocytosis by host macrophages. In contrast, DeltaRD1 mutant bacteria grow normally in macrophages but fail to induce host macrophage aggregation and subsequent cell-to-cell spread. Consistent with these in vivo findings, erp-deficient but not RD1-deficient bacteria exhibited permeability defects in vitro, which may be responsible for their specific failure to survive in host macrophages. (+info)
Case report of non-healing wounds presenting to a DGH, South East London.
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Mycobacterium marinum infections (fish tank granuloma) are infrequently encountered and when they do arise, they can pose a diagnostic challenge for clinicians. They can present as non-healing wounds along with several other presentations that may not be typical, as patients can have other comorbidities that cause immunosuppression and invasive symptoms of the disease. Treatment regimens vary in length, and are based on the patient's response to treatment couple with resolution of symptoms. Rifampicin and ethambutol are effective treatment options, together with use of macrolides. A thorough history from patients must be taken as to establish contact with aquatic animals. (+info)
Mycobacterium marinum produces long-term chronic infections in medaka: a new animal model for studying human tuberculosis.
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Human infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is endemic, with approximately 2 billion infected and is the most common cause of adult death due to an infectious agent. Because of the slow growth rate of M. tuberculosis and risk to researchers, other species of Mycobacterium have been employed as alternative model systems to study human tuberculosis (TB). Mycobacterium marinum may be a good surrogate pathogen, conferring TB-like chronic infections in some fish. Medaka (Oryzias latipes) has been established for over five decades as a laboratory fish model for toxicology, genotoxicity, teratogenesis, carcinogenesis, classical genetics and embryology. We are investigating if medaka might also serve as a host for M. marinum in order to model human TB. We show that both acute and chronic infections are inducible in a dose dependent manner. Colonization of target organs and systemic granuloma formation has been demonstrated through the use of histology. M. marinum expressing green fluorescent protein (Gfp) was used to monitor bacterial colonization of these organs in fresh tissues as well as in intact animals. Moreover, we have employed the See-Through fish line, a variety of medaka devoid of major pigments, to monitor real-time disease progression, in living animals. We have also compared the susceptibility of another prominent fish model, zebrafish (Danio rerio), to our medaka-M. marinum model. We determined the course of infections in zebrafish is significantly more severe than in medaka. Together, these results indicate that the medaka-M. marinum model provides unique advantages for studying chronic mycobacteriosis. (+info)
In vitro activities of the novel oxazolidinones DA-7867 and DA-7157 against rapidly and slowly growing mycobacteria.
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DA-7867 and DA-7157 are oxazolidinones active against pathogenic aerobic actinomycetes including Nocardia spp. and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, the activity of these drugs against nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) species is not known. In this work, we compared the susceptibilities of 122 clinical isolates and 29 reference species of both rapidly growing and slowly growing mycobacteria to linezolid, DA-7867, and DA-7157 by the broth microdilution method. The MICs for 50 and 90% of the strains tested (MIC50s and MIC90s, respectively) of DA-7867 and DA-7157 were lower than those of linezolid. In all of the cases, a MIC90 of <8 microg/ml was observed for all of the species tested in both groups of NTM. For M. kansasii and M. marinum isolates, the MIC90s of both DA-7867 and DA-7157 were less than 0.5 microg/ml. These results demonstrate the potential of these compounds to treat NTM infections. (+info)
A Mycobacterium marinum mel2 mutant is defective for growth in macrophages that produce reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen species.
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Macrophages produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in response to bacterial infections. Mycobacteria are relatively resistant to ROS, but RNS inhibit growth of, and possibly even kill, mycobacteria in activated macrophages. We recently constructed a Mycobacterium marinum mel2 locus mutant, which is known to affect macrophage infection. We found previously that the mel2 locus confers resistance to ROS and RNS in laboratory medium, suggesting that this locus might play a similar role during growth in macrophages. Since J774A.1 murine macrophages produce high levels of ROS and RNS upon activation with gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), we examined the effects of IFN-gamma on ROS and RNS production by these cells as well as the effects on growth of M. marinum in these cells. We found that an M. marinum mutant with mutation of the first gene in the mel2 locus, melF, is defective for growth in IFN-gamma-plus-lipopolysaccharide-treated J774A.1 cells and that this defect is abrogated by the presence of either inhibitors of nitric oxide synthase or ROS scavengers. Furthermore, the M. marinum melF mutant displays a defect at late stages in the mouse footpad model of infection. These phenotypic characteristics could be complemented fully by the entire mel2 locus but only partially by the presence of melF alone, supporting data suggesting that this insertion mutation has polar effects on downstream genes in the mel2 locus. These observations demonstrate that the M. marinum mel2 locus plays a role in resistance to ROS and RNS produced by activated macrophages. (+info)
Sporotrichoid presentation of Mycobacterium marinum infection of the upper extremity. A case report.
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BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium marinum is a human opportunistic pathogen that is known to inhabit swimming pools, home aquariums, and natural bodies of salt and fresh water. Epidemic cases involving swimming pools are easily recognized, but sporadic cases are frequently misdiagnosed. OBJECTIVE: A 42-year-old male presented with a 2-month history of the appearance of livid, verrucous, painless nodules on his right upper extremity. He had cleaned an aquarium with tropical fish for the past 2 years. METHODS: A histopathological examination suggested a granulomatous inflammation. After incubation on Lowenstein-Jensen medium, Mycobacterium marinum was identified using biochemical methods and the PCR technique. RESULTS: Systemic therapy with rifampicin, ethambutol, and clarithromycin over a period of 6 months led to complete resolution of the skin lesions with some residual scars. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of this condition is very important to avoid unnecessary diagnostic procedures and improper treatment. (+info)
Akt and FOXO dysregulation contribute to infection-induced wasting in Drosophila.
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BACKGROUND: Studies in Drosophila have taught us a great deal about how animals regulate the immediate innate immune response, but we still know little about how infections cause pathology. Here, we examine the pathogenesis associated with Mycobacterium marinum infection in the fly. M. marinum is closely related to M. tuberculosis, which causes tuberculosis in people. RESULTS: A microarray analysis showed that metabolism is profoundly affected in M. marinum-infected flies. A genetic screen identified foxo mutants as slower-dying after infection than wild-type flies. FOXO activity is inhibited by the insulin effector kinase Akt; we show that Akt activation is systemically reduced as a result of M. marinum infection. Finally, we show that flies infected with Mycobacterium marinum undergo a process like wasting: They progressively lose metabolic stores, in the form of fat and glycogen. They also become hyperglycemic. In contrast, foxo mutants exhibit less wasting. CONCLUSIONS: In people, many infections--including tuberculosis--can cause wasting, much as we see in Drosophila. Our study is the first examination of the metabolic consequences of infection in a genetically tractable invertebrate and gives insight into the metabolic consequences of mycobacterial infection, implicating impaired insulin signaling as a key mediator of these events. These results suggest that the fly can be used to study more than the immediate innate immune response to infection; it can also be used to understand the physiological consequences of infection and the immune response. (+info)
Mycobacterium marinum infection of adult zebrafish causes caseating granulomatous tuberculosis and is moderated by adaptive immunity.
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The zebrafish, a genetically tractable model vertebrate, is naturally susceptible to tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium marinum, a close genetic relative of the causative agent of human tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We previously developed a zebrafish embryo-M. marinum infection model to study host-pathogen interactions in the context of innate immunity. Here, we have constructed a flowthrough fish facility for the large-scale longitudinal study of M. marinum-induced tuberculosis in adult zebrafish where both innate and adaptive immunity are operant. We find that zebrafish are exquisitely susceptible to M. marinum strain M. Intraperitoneal injection of five organisms produces persistent granulomatous tuberculosis, while the injection of approximately 9,000 organisms leads to acute, fulminant disease. Bacterial burden, extent of disease, pathology, and host mortality progress in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. Zebrafish tuberculous granulomas undergo caseous necrosis, similar to human tuberculous granulomas. In contrast to mammalian tuberculous granulomas, zebrafish lesions contain few lymphocytes, calling into question the role of adaptive immunity in fish tuberculosis. However, like rag1 mutant mice infected with M. tuberculosis, we find that rag1 mutant zebrafish are hypersusceptible to M. marinum infection, demonstrating that the control of fish tuberculosis is dependent on adaptive immunity. We confirm the previous finding that M. marinum DeltaRD1 mutants are attenuated in adult zebrafish and extend this finding to show that DeltaRD1 predominantly produces nonnecrotizing, loose macrophage aggregates. This observation suggests that the macrophage aggregation defect associated with DeltaRD1 attenuation in zebrafish embryos is ongoing during adult infection. (+info)