Project description:Despite wide scale vaccination with Mycobacterium bovis BCG, the prevalence of tuberculosis remains high, reflecting the global variable efficacy of this vaccine against adult pulmonary TB. Characterisation of different immune responses to M. tuberculosis and M. bovis BCG would increase understanding of pathology following M. tuberculosis infection or reactivation, and would facilitate the rational design of a new vaccine. Gene expression profiling was conducted on samples from diluted whole blood cultures from three healthy donors following incubation with live mycobacteria for six days. Approximately 8,000 gene entities were at least two-fold up- or down- regulated by the mycobacteria, and both mycobacteria induced similar expression changes in approximately 2,300 genes. Strikingly, many genes exhibited qualitatively different expression patterns, with over 1,000 genes up-regulated in response to M. bovis BCG but not changed by M. tuberculosis. Gene Ontology analysis revealed that the genes which failed to upregulate in M. tuberculosis-infected cultures included a large proportion of genes with lysosomal function. The inhibited up-regulation of expression of IFN-γ-inducible protein 30, acid phosphatase 2, cathepsin B and GM2 ganglioside activator was verified in samples from six biologically independent donors by qRT-PCR. The failure to up-regulate these genes in response to M. tuberculosis may constitute an immune evasion mechanism, preventing intracellular killing and antigen presentation.
Project description:Some intracellular bacteria are known to cause long-term infections for periods of time that last decades without compromising the viability of the host. Although of critical importance, the changes that intracellular bacteria suffer during this long process of residence in a host cell environment remain obscure. Here, we report an experimental approach to study the adaptations of intracellular mycobacteria forced by a long-term intracellular lifestyle. Long-term infection of host macrophages with mycobacteria was maintained for a period of years. Mycobacteria in the long-term infected macrophages underwent an adaptation process leading to impaired phenolic glycolipids (PGL) synthesis, preference for glucose as a carbon source and neutral lipids accumulation. These changes correlated with increased survival of mycobacteria in macrophages and mice during re-infection and specific expression of stress- and survival-related genes. Our findings identify bacterial traits implicated in the establishment of long-term cellular infections and represent a tool for understanding the physiological states of bacteria living in fluctuating intracellular environments.
Project description:Despite wide scale vaccination with Mycobacterium bovis BCG, the prevalence of tuberculosis remains high, reflecting the global variable efficacy of this vaccine against adult pulmonary TB. Characterisation of different immune responses to M. tuberculosis and M. bovis BCG would increase understanding of pathology following M. tuberculosis infection or reactivation, and would facilitate the rational design of a new vaccine. Gene expression profiling was conducted on samples from diluted whole blood cultures from three healthy donors following incubation with live mycobacteria for six days. Approximately 8,000 gene entities were at least two-fold up- or down- regulated by the mycobacteria, and both mycobacteria induced similar expression changes in approximately 2,300 genes. Strikingly, many genes exhibited qualitatively different expression patterns, with over 1,000 genes up-regulated in response to M. bovis BCG but not changed by M. tuberculosis. Gene Ontology analysis revealed that the genes which failed to upregulate in M. tuberculosis-infected cultures included a large proportion of genes with lysosomal function. The inhibited up-regulation of expression of IFN-γ-inducible protein 30, acid phosphatase 2, cathepsin B and GM2 ganglioside activator was verified in samples from six biologically independent donors by qRT-PCR. The failure to up-regulate these genes in response to M. tuberculosis may constitute an immune evasion mechanism, preventing intracellular killing and antigen presentation. Blood from three healthy BCG-vaccinated donors was diluted with growth medium and incubated alone or with live M. tuberculosis (H37Rv), M. bovis BCG for 6 days. RNA samples were pooled before hybridisation.
Project description:New strategies are required to reduce the worldwide burden of tuberculosis. Intracellular survival and replication of Mycobacterium tuberculosis after macrophage phagocytosis is a fundamental step in the complex host-pathogen interactions that lead to granuloma formation and disease. Greater understanding of how the bacterium survives and thrives in these environments will inform novel drug and vaccine discovery programmes. Here, we use in-depth RNA sequencing of Mycobacterium bovis BCG from human THP-1 macrophages to describe the mycobacterial adaptations to the intracellular environment. We identify 329 significantly differentially regulated genes, highlighting cholesterol catabolism, methyl-citrate cycle and iron homeostasis as important for mycobacteria inside macrophages. Focused analysis of PE/PPE and cytochrome P450 gene families highlight additional pathways that are upregulated (35 and five respectively) 24h after infection. Comparison of the intracellular transcriptome to gene essentiality and immunogenicity studies identified 15 potential targets that are both required for intracellular survival and induced on infection, and eight genes upregulated that have been demonstrated to be immunogenic in TB patients. Further insight into these new and established targets will support drug and vaccine development efforts.