Experimental selection of long-term intracellular mycobacteria.
Some intracellular bacteria are known to cause long-term infections that last decades without compromising the viability of the host. Although of critical importance, the adaptations that intracellular bacteria undergo during this long process of residence in a host cell environment remain obscure. Here, we report a novel experimental approach to study the adaptations of mycobacteria imposed by a long-term intracellular lifestyle. Selected Mycobacterium bovis BCG through continuous culture in macrophages underwent an adaptation process leading to impaired phenolic glycolipids (PGL) synthesis, improved usage of glucose as a carbon source and accumulation of neutral lipids. These changes correlated with increased survival of mycobacteria in macrophages and mice during re-infection and also with the specific expression of stress- and survival-related genes. Our findings identify bacterial traits implicated in the establishment of long-term cellular infections and represent a tool for understanding the physiological states and the environment that bacteria face living in fluctuating intracellular environments.
Research Group Phagosome Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstrasse 7, 38124, Braunschweig, Germany.
Cristina L
CL
Vázquez
Thomas R
TR
Lerner
Bahram
B
Kasmapour
Gang
G
Pei
Achim
A
Gronow
Maria V
MV
Bianco
Federico C
FC
Blanco
Christopher K E
CK
Bleck
Robert
R
Geffers
Fabiana
F
Bigi
Wolf-Rainer
WR
Abraham
Maximiliano G
MG
Gutierrez
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000378:metabolism; D008264:Macrophages / Q000382:microbiology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000502:physiology
D006017:Glycolipids