Emerging multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains of the Beijing genotype circulating in Russia express a pattern of biological properties associated with enhanced virulence.
The epidemiologically important Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing genotype strains, highly endemic in East Asia, have become an emerging infection in certain geographic areas, including Russia, because of its increasing prevalence and association with multidrug resistance (MDR). The aim was to verify whether MDR Beijing strains circulating in the emerging regions present some biological particularities that could contribute to their success in causing disease in comparison with the sporadic strains from locations with low prevalence of the Beijing genotype. We evaluated virulence-associated characteristics of the MDR Beijing strains isolated in Russia and compared them with those of the drug-resistant and susceptible Beijing strains from Brazil and reference H37Rv strain. We found that Russian MDR strains demonstrated an increased bacterial fitness and growth in THP-1 macrophage-like cells, as well as a higher capacity to induce non-protective cytokine synthesis and necrotic macrophage death. By contrast, the biological properties of the strains isolated in Brazil largely resembled those of the H37Rv strain, with the exception of the drug-resistant isolates that presented significantly reduced fitness. The data demonstrate that the emerging MDR strains of the Beijing genotype circulating in Russia do express a pattern of properties associated with the enhanced virulence favouring its clonal dissemination in this region.
Lasunskaia
Elena
E
Laboratory of Biology of Recognition, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos, Rio de Janeiro 28013-600, Brazil. elena@uenf.br
Ribeiro
Simone C M
SC
Manicheva
Olga
O
Gomes
Lia Lima
LL
Suffys
Philip N
PN
Mokrousov
Igor
I
Ferrazoli
Lucilaine
L
Andrade
Marcelle R M
MR
Kritski
Afranio
A
Otten
Tatiana
T
Kipnis
Thereza L
TL
da Silva
Wilmar D
WD
Vishnevsky
Boris
B
Oliveira
Martha M
MM
Gomes
Harrison M
HM
Baptista
Ida F
IF
Narvskaya
Olga
O
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016923:Cell Death; D002460:Cell Line; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D012426:Russia / Q000453:epidemiology; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
D016207:Cytokines