Virulence determinants of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Necrosis of lung epithelial cells during infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is preceded by cell permeation

Mycobacterium tuberculosis establishes infection, progresses towards disease, and is transmitted from the alveolus of the lung. However, the role of the alveolar epithelium in any of these pathogenic processes of tuberculosis is unclear. In this study, lung epithelial cells (A549) were used as a model in which to examine cytotoxicity during infection with either virulent or avirulent mycobacteria in order to further establish the role of the lung epithelium during tuberculosis. Infection of A549 cells with M. tuberculosis strains Erdman and CDC1551 demonstrated significant cell monolayer clearing, whereas infection with either Mycobacterium bovis BCG or Mycobacterium smegmatis LR222 did not. Clearing of M. tuberculosis-infected A549 cells correlated to necrosis, not apoptosis. Treatment of M. tuberculosis-infected A549 cells with streptomycin, but not cycloheximide, demonstrated a significant reduction in the necrosis of A549 cell monolayers. This mycobacterium-induced A549 necrosis did not correlate to higher levels of intracellular or extracellular growth by the mycobacteria during infection. Staining of infected cells with propidium iodide demonstrated that M. tuberculosis induced increased permeation of A549 cell membranes within 24 h postinfection. Quantitation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release from infected cells further demonstrated that cell permeation was specific to M. tuberculosis infection and correlated to A549 cellular necrosis. Inactivated M. tuberculosis or its subcellular fractions did not result in A549 necrosis or LDH release. These studies demonstrate that lung epithelial cell cytotoxicity is specific to infection by virulent mycobacteria and is caused by cellular necrosis. This necrosis is not a direct correlate of mycobacterial growth or of the expression of host cell factors, but is preceded by permeation of the A549 cell membrane and requires infection with live bacilli.

Early IL-4 Induction in Bone Marrow Lymphoid Precursor Cells by Mycobacterial Lipoarabinomannan

IL-4 is produced promptly in response to certain infections and plays a key role in the Th1/Th2 T cell dichotomy; however, the cellular source remains a matter of debate. Here we describe the induction of IL-4 in bone marrow cells of normal and RAG−/− mice by both Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its major cell wall glycolipid, lipoarabinomannan. Characterization of the cell type responsible indicated that it was distinct from the NK1+ or CD4+ T cell previously ascribed the function of rapid IL-4 secretion. Cell-sorting experiments identified CD19+/B220+ precursor cells, presumably pre-B cells that produced IL-4 constitutively and whose frequency was rapidly and markedly up-regulated by lipoarabinomannan. Thus, pathogenic mycobacteria and their glycolipids may influence hemopoiesis by rapidly inducing IL-4 secretion in the bone marrow.