title: Mechanisms of Mycobacterium avium pathogenesis.
abstract: Infections caused by Mycobacterium avium are common in AIDS patients and patients with chronic lung diseases. The bacterium can be acquired both through the intestinal route and respiratory route. M. avium is capable of invading mucosal epithelial cells and translocating across the mucosa. The bacterium can infect macrophages, interfering with several functions of the host cell. The host defense against M. avium is primarily dependent on CD4+ T lymphocytes and natural killer cells. Activated macrophages can inhibit or kill intracellular bacteria by mechanisms that are currently unknown, but M. avium can invade resting macrophages and suppress key aspects of their function by triggering the release of transforming growth factor beta and interleukin 10. Co-infection with HIV-1 appears to be mutually beneficial, with both organisms growing faster.
authors.affiliation: Kuzell Institute for Arthritis and Infectious Diseases, California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, San Francisco 94115, USA. kiaid@cooper.cpmc.org
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Bermudez
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sosnowska
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000209:etiology; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D009162:Mycobacterium avium / Q000472:pathogenicity; D015269:Mycobacterium avium Complex / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D015270:Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology