Host- and Age-Dependent Transcriptional Changes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Cell Envelope Biosynthesis Genes after Exposure to Human Alveolar Lining Fluid.

ABSTRACT: Tuberculosis (TB) infection, caused by the airborne pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), resulted in almost 1.4 million deaths in 2019, and the number of deaths is predicted to increase by 20% over the next 5 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon reaching the alveolar space, M.tb comes into close contact with the lung mucosa before and after its encounter with host alveolar compartment cells. Our previous studies show that homeostatic, innate soluble components of the alveolar lining fluid (ALF) can quickly alter the cell envelope surface of M.tb upon contact, defining subsequent M.tb-host cell interactions and infection outcomes in vitro and in vivo. We also demonstrated that ALF from 60+ year old elders (E-ALF) vs. healthy 18- to 45-year-old a

SUBMITTER: Allue-Guardia A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8780516 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature