Lecture 28 - Mycobacterial Infections Flashcards
Acid fast
A stain.
Based on how well a bacterium can resist decolourisation by an alcohol/acid solution.
Acid fast organisms stain pink, non-acid-fast stain green
Mycobacterial characteristics 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)
1) Acid fast rods
2) Non-motile
3) Aerobic
4) Unusual lipid-rich cell wall
5) Over 100 species in genus
6) Most are harmless saporophites
Mycobacterial opportunistic pathogens 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
1) Marinum
2) Avium
3) Chelonae
4) Fortuitum
5) Abcessis
Are mycobacteria very fastidious?
No
Because of cell wall, can live in diverse environments
Atypical mycobacteria
Mycobacteria that don’t cause human disease
Mycobacterial cell wall
1) Peptidoglycan and arabinoglycan
2) Arabinoglycan is covalently linked to glycolipids and fatty acids (mycolic acid)
Ziehl-Neilson stain
An acid fast stain
Mycobacteria stain pink
Mycobacteria resistances and weaknesses
Resistant to detergent
HEat-labile (killed at over 60C)
What are the phylogenetic relationships in the Mycobacterium genus based on?
16S rRNA sequences
Broad division in Mycobacterium genus
Slow and fast growers
Do slow or fast growing Mycobacteria cause human disease?
Slow growing
Major human mycobacterial pathogens
1)
2)
3)
1) Tuberculosis
2) Leprae
3) Ulcerans
M tuberculosis generation time
24 horus
M leprae generation time
14 days
M ulcerans generation time
48 hours
Generation time
Time for bacteria to divide
M leprae treatment
Multi-drug treatment
Rifampcin, dapsone, clofazimine for at least 6 months
M tuberculosis treatment
Directly-observed treatment
Rifampcin, isoniazid and 1 other drug for ~ 6 months
M ulcerans treatment
Streptomycin, rifampcin for 8 weeks (SR8)
M leprae incidence
700,000
M tuberculosis incidence
8 million
M ulcerans incidence
100,000
Important part of the immune system in controlling mycobacterial infections
Th1, cellular immunity
M leprae cell tropism
Schwann cells, macrophages
M tuberculosis cell tropism
Mscrophages, monocytes
M ulcerans cell tropism
Subcutaneous tissue, maybe extracellular