Growing evidence points to the presence of differentially culturable tubercle bacteria (DCTB) in clinical specimens from individuals with active tuberculosis (TB) disease. These bacteria are unable to grow on solid media but can resuscitate in liquid media. Given the epidemiological success of certain clinical genotype families of , we hypothesize that different strains may have distinct mechanisms of adaptation and tolerance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Cell Infect Microbiol
January 2023
Introduction: Routine efficacy assessments of new tuberculosis (TB) treatments include quantitative solid culture or routine liquid culture, which likely miss quantification of drug tolerant bacteria. To improve these assessments, comparative analyses using additional measures such as quantification of differentially culturable tubercle bacteria (DCTB) are required. Essential for enabling this is a comparative measure of TB treatment responses using routine solid and liquid culture with liquid limiting dilutions (LLDs) that detect DCTB in sputum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile some healthcare systems have shifted to molecular diagnostics, culture still remains the gold standard for tuberculosis diagnosis, but it is limited by its long duration to a positive result. Methods to reduce time to culture positivity (TTP) are urgently required. We determined if growth factor supplementation in the mycobacterial growth indicator tube (MGIT) culture system reduces TTP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRapid detection of tuberculosis (TB) infection is paramount to curb further transmission. The gold standard for this remains mycobacterial culture, however emerging evidence confirms the presence of differentially culturable tubercle bacteria (DCTB) in clinical specimens. These bacteria do not grow under standard culture conditions and require the presence of culture filtrate (CF), from axenic cultures of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), to emerge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTuberculosis (TB) disease can be characterized by genotypic and phenotypic complexity in Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli within a single patient. This microbiological heterogeneity has become an area of intense study due its perceived importance in drug tolerance, drug resistance and as a surrogate measure of transmission rates. This review presents a descriptive analysis of research describing the prevalence of mixed-strain TB infections in geographically distinct locations.
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