Identification of protective postexposure mycobacterial vaccine antigens using an immunosuppression-based reactivation model in the zebrafish.

ABSTRACT: Roughly one third of the human population carries a latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, with a 5-10% lifetime risk of reactivation to active tuberculosis and further spreading the disease. The mechanisms leading to the reactivation of a latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection are insufficiently understood. Here, we used a natural fish pathogen, Mycobacterium marinum, to model the reactivation of a mycobacterial infection in the adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). A low-dose intraperitoneal injection (∼40 colony-forming units) led to a latent infection, with mycobacteria found in well-organized granulomas surrounded by a thick layer of fibrous tissue. A latent infection could be reactivated by oral dexamethasone treatment, which led to disruption of the granuloma structures and diss

SUBMITTER: Myllymaki H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5897733 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature