Urease activity does not contribute dramatically to persistence of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin.
Multiplication of BCGure-, an isogenic urease-negative mutant of Mycobacterium bovis BCG constructed by allelic exchange (J. M. Reyrat, F. X. Berthet, and B. Gicquel, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92:8768-8772, 1995), was examined in human macrophages and mice. Although ureolytic activity was not essential to BCGure-growth, a slight decrease in the multiplication and persistence of the mutated strain compared with wild-type BCG was observed in lungs of infected mice.
Reyrat
J M
JM
Unité de Génétique Mycobactérienne (CNRS, URA 1300), Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Lopez-Ramirez
G
G
Ofredo
C
C
Gicquel
B
B
Winter
N
N
D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000382:microbiology; D008168:Lung / Q000382:microbiology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000382:microbiology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009154:Mutation; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development; D013154:Spleen / Q000382:microbiology; D014510:Urease / Q000502:physiology*
D014510:Urease