Phenotypic and genomic analyses of the Mycobacterium avium complex reveal differences in gastrointestinal invasion and genomic composition.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium intracellulare are closely related organisms and comprise the Mycobacterium avium complex. These organisms share many common characteristics, including the ability to cause life-threatening respiratory infections in people with underlying lung pathology or immunological defects and occasionally in those with no known predisposing conditions. However, the ability to invade the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract and cause disseminated disease in AIDS patients has not been epidemiologically linked to M. intracellulare and appears to be unique to M. avium. We compared the abilities of M. avium and M. intracellulare to tolerate the acidic conditions of the stomach, to resist the membrane-disrupting activity of cationic peptides, and to invade intestinal e

SUBMITTER: McGarvey JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC98807 | biostudies-literature | 2001 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature