Micro - TB Flashcards
4 mycobacteria strains and their reservoirs
- M. bovis - cows
- M. avium - AIDS pts
- M. tuberculosis - humans
- M. leprae - humans?
Presentation of M. bovis
Extrapulmonary TB in someone exposed to unpasteurized milk
Presentation of M. avium
TB-like dz in AIDS pt
M. tuberculosis is the leading cause of:
Death by bacterial infectious disease
How many people affected by TB worldwide?
1/3 of population
White plague v. black plague
White plague - TB
Black plague - Yersinia pestis (subcutaneous hemorrhage)
MTB is (aerobic, anaerobic) (intracellular, extracellular) (shape)
Aerobic, facultative aerobe, large rod
Where do mycobacteria normally reside in body?
Dry, oily areas
Virulence factors of MTB
- Facultative intracellular parasite
- Obligate aerobe
- Peptidoglycan + lots of lipoproteins
- Binds to mannose, complement, and Fc receptors of macrophages
- Inhibit phagosome-lysosome fusion
- Decreased oxidative toxicity of macrophages
- Antigen 85
- Slow generating
How does being a facultative intracellular parasite contribute to MTB virulence?
Avoids Ab/complement toxicity
How does being an obligate aerobe contribute to MTB virulence?
Can live in upper lobes of lungs
How does having peptidoglycan + lots of lipoproteins contribute to MTB virulence?
Antibiotic resistance Resistance to complement lysis Resistance to stains Resistance to acid or base compounds Can live in macrophages
How does binding to mannose, complement, and Fc receptors of macrophages contribute to MTB virulence?
Allows cell entry
What is antigen 85 and how does it contribute to MTB virulence?
Group of proteins secreted by MTB that bind fibronectin and wall off the bacteria from immune cells + facilitate tubercle formation
How does the slow generation of TB contribute to virulence of MTB?
Can grow under the radar of immune cells
Characteristic of MTB culture
Serpentine cord colonies due to cord factor
Only virulent strains of MTB produce:
Cord factor
Characteristic of MTB gram stain
Ghost cells - mycolic acid repels the stain, causing cleared areas that resemble empty cells/ghosts
Name of acid-fast technique? How does it work?
Ziehl-Neelsen stain
Stain with carbolfuschin (pink dye) then decolorized with acid; holds “fast” to the pink stain
3 lipid proteins of MTB cell wall
- Mycolic acid
- Wax D
- Cord factor
To which MTB lipoprotein does carbolfuschin bind?
Mycolic acid
What is the function of mycolic acid?
Reduces permeability of MTB to ROS of macrophages
What is the function of cord factor?
2 mycolic acids + disaccharide that allows parallel growth of MTB (serpentine colonies) and inhibits PMN migration and complement deposition
What is the function of wax D?
Part of lipid envelope; major component of Freund’s complete adjuvant (solution used to boost immunity)