Oxygen Modulates the Effectiveness of Granuloma Mediated Host Response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis: A Multiscale Computational Biology Approach.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacterium tuberculosis associated granuloma formation can be viewed as a structural immune response that can contain and halt the spread of the pathogen. In several mammalian hosts, including non-human primates, Mtb granulomas are often hypoxic, although this has not been observed in wild type murine infection models. While a presumed consequence, the structural contribution of the granuloma to oxygen limitation and the concomitant impact on Mtb metabolic viability and persistence remains to be fully explored. We develop a multiscale computational model to test to what extent in vivo Mtb granulomas become hypoxic, and investigate the effects of hypoxia on host immune response efficacy and mycobacterial persistence. Our study integrates a physiological model of oxygen dynamics in the ex

SUBMITTER: Sershen CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4753379 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature