Pathogen Biology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India; Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address:
Published: July 2014
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is an obligate intracellular pathogen. It causes chronic intestinal inflammation in ruminants known as Johne's disease and is associated with human Crohn's disease. Furthermore, association of MAP with other autoimmune diseases, such as type-1 diabetes, has been established in patients from Sardinia (Italy) which is a MAP endemic and genetically isolated region. Due to largest livestock population and consequently high MAP prevalence amidst a very high diabetes incidence in India, we sought to test this association on a limited number of patient samples from Hyderabad. Our results of ELISA with MAP lysate and MAP-specific protein MAP3738c as well as PCR/real-time PCR of MAP-specific sequences IS900 and/or f57 indicated that, in contrast to Sardinian diabetic patients, MAP infection in blood is not discerned in diabetic patients in Hyderabad. The association of a mycobacterial trigger with diabetes therefore could well be a population-specific phenomenon, highly dependent on genetic repertoire and the environment of susceptible populations. However, a larger study is needed in order to confirm this.
The factors that determine the appearance of the different pathologic forms associated with bovine paratuberculosis are not fully understood, but new research suggests a critical role of innate immunity. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) trigger the recognition of invading pathogens by innate immune cells and the onset of specific immune responses. The aim of this work was to assess, immunohistochemically, the expression of TLR1, TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9 in intestinal samples of 20 cows showing different types of paratuberculous lesions: uninfected controls, focal lesions, paucibacillary, and multibacillary diffuse forms.
, a leading non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) pathogen, causes chronic pulmonary infections, particularly in individuals with underlying lung conditions or immunosuppression. Current treatments involve prolonged multi-drug regimens with poor outcomes and significant side effects, highlighting the urgent need for improved therapies. Using a BALB/c mouse model of chronic pulmonary disease, we evaluated the efficacy of individual antibiotics- clarithromycin, clofazimine, and rifabutin-and combination regimens including clarithromycin+bedaquiline and clarithromycin+clofazimine+bedaquiline.
In cats, mycobacteriosis tends to present in a syndromic manner, with cases either being due to tuberculosis (TB) (in countries where TB is endemic), one of the "leprosy-like" diseases affecting the skin and subcutis, panniculitis caused by infection of subcutaneous tissues generally with rapidly growing Mycobacteria spp. or widely disseminated granulomatous disease, which is usually caused by members of the Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex (MAC). Disseminated MAC disease is rare, but when it occurs, usually develops in immunocompromised hosts with defective cell-mediated immunity.
Non-tuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Disease (NTM-PD) is a chronic disease characterised by progressive inflammatory lung damage due to infection by non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). Global prevalence of NTM-PD is generally low but is rising, likely due to a combination of increased surveillance, increasing multimorbidity and improved diagnostic techniques. Most disease is caused by Mycobacterium avium complex species.
