Bacteriology II Flashcards
What are the general characteristics of atypical bacteria? (6)
- Difficult to culture
- Unusual cell wall/absence of cell wall
- Specific/unusual cellular staining properties
- Usually small size
- Most replicate intracellularly
- Slow growth
What are common clinical examples of atypical bacteria?
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- Chlamydia
- Mycoplasma
The growth speed of mycobacteria is generally [higher/lower] than that of other bacteria
(Much) lower
What makes mycobacteria difficult to stain?
Specialized cell wall with a waxy lipid layer
What is the advantage of the specialized cell wall to mycobacteria?
They are resistant to killing by phagocytes
What is a common comorbidity found in TB patients?
HIV
How many cases of TB are cleared by the innate immune system?
~70%
What happens when TB infections are not cleared by the innate immune system?
Formation of a Ghon complex -> granulomatous inflammation encasing the infection site
Where does the majority of TB-associated granulomas occur?
Lungs
How many % of TB infections become latent?
~10%
How many of the granulomatous laesions TB will break down? What happens if they do?
1-3% of granulomas (=0,3-1% of all TB infections) will break down, resulting in dissemination of TB through the body
How many % of TB cases immediately disseminate?
~3%
What causes reactivation of latent TB?
Impairment of the cellular immune system due to various stressors (stress, malnutrition, malignancy, HIV, old age, immunosuppression, diabetes, etc.)
What are two important virulence factors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis?
- Nuog-gene
- hip1-gene
What does the nuog gene of TB do? (2)
- Delays migration of DCs to the lungs
- Inhibits apoptosis of infected neutrophils