Distinct Host-Mycobacterial Pathogen Interactions between Resistant Adult and Tolerant Tadpole Life Stages of Xenopus laevis.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacterium marinum is a promiscuous pathogen infecting many vertebrates, including humans, whose persistent infections are problematic for aquaculture and public health. Among unsettled aspects of host-pathogen interactions, the respective roles of conventional and innate-like T (iT) cells in host defenses against M. marinum remain unclear. In this study, we developed an infection model system in the amphibian Xenopus laevis to study host responses to M. marinum at two distinct life stages, tadpole and adult. Adult frogs possess efficient conventional T cell-mediated immunity, whereas tadpoles predominantly rely on iT cells. We hypothesized that tadpoles are more susceptible and elicit weaker immune responses to M. marinum than adults. However, our res

SUBMITTER: Rhoo KH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6832864 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature