ABSTRACT: Background: Conflicting results have been reported about the role of the two-component sensor and transcriptional regulator DosS/DosR, controlling the expression of the dormancy DosR regulon, for in vivo virulence of M. tuberculosis. Here, we have used a new approach to further analyze the relevance of the dosRS system, by driving DosR (Rv3133c) expression under the control of a constitutive promoter (phsp60). Methodology/Principal Findings: M. tuberculosis H37Rv constitutively expressing the transcriptional regulator DosR (Mtb::DosR) was compared to wild type M. tuberculosis (Mtb+/+) for in vitro growth kinetics and expression of the target genes of the DosR dormancy regulon, for in vivo virulence and for immunogenicity in mice. Under aerobic conditions, hsp60-driven DosR induced the expression of 28 out of 39 tested DosR regulon genes. In vitro growth characteristics were comparable for both strains, but Mtb::DosR showed an attenuated in vivo phenotype in immunocompetent mice, as indicated by reduced bacterial replication, reduced pulmonary immunopathology, reduced cachexia and significantly prolonged survival time as compared Mtb+/+. In immunodeficient SCID mice, Mtb::DosR was fully virulent. RT-qPCR analysis revealed a strong and comparable pulmonary TNF-?? and IL-23 expression following intratracheal infection, whereas IL-12 and IL-17 expression was slightly higher with wild type Mtb+/+. Finally, mice persistently infected with Mtb::DosR for 8 months showed five to tenfold higher lung IFN-?? responses against ten of the 48 DosR regulon encoded antigens (Rv1733c, Rv1734, Rv1738, Rv1996, Rv1997, Rv2029c, Rv2623, Rv2627c, Rv2628 and Rv3127) than mice actively infected with Mtb+/+. In spleen however, DosR regulon encoded antigen specific IFN-?? responses were similar in both groups. Conclusions/Significance. Collectively, these results suggest that increased DosR regulon encoded antigen specific pulmonary T cell responses are responsible for the attenuated phenotype of Mtb::DosR and that infection with Mtb::DosR could be used as a new animal model for studying key aspects of latent tuberculosis.
