Mycobacterium avium is the most frequent cause of disseminated bacterial infection in patients with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection and in rhesus macaques with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection. This animal model of AIDS was used to test the hypothesis that this frequent association is the result of reciprocal enhancement of replication of both microorganisms. The repl...

There has been a general understanding that Mycobacterium smegmatis produces only apolar glycopeptidolipid (GPL), similar in structure to serovar non-specific GPL of Mycobacterium avium. In this study, synthesis of polar GPL in carbon-starved M. smegmatis is reported. Mass spectrometric analysis suggests the polar GPL to be a hyperglycosylated species. The earlier structural studies of polar GP...

A rapid and quantitative assay for the disinfection of the water-borne pathogen, Mycobacterium avium, was developed using firefly luciferase as a reporter gene. There was a correlation between the quantity of light produced and the number of colony-forming units. In chlorine-disinfection studies of a luciferase-carrying derivative of M. avium, there was a strong correlation (r2=0.96) between co...

A total of 55 patients with pulmonary disease caused by Mycobacterium avium and by Mycobacterium intracellulare were compared for their prognosis. Causative mycobacteria were identified by the DNA probes (Gen-Probe) method. Of the 55 patients, 28 had pulmonary disease caused by M avium and the remaining 27, by M intracellulare. Of the former group, four patients had progressive disease, and thr...

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is a slowly growing mycobacterial species, requiring 6 to 8 weeks of culture before colonies can be counted visually. Here, we describe the development of luminescent M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis expressing luxAB genes of Vibrio harveyi and its use for vaccine testing in an experimental mouse model, replacing fastidious CFU counting by rapid lumin...

The pathogenicity of 40 strains of Mycobacterium avium, M. paratuberculosis, M. intracellulare and M. lepraemurium was investigated in chickens, rabbits, guinea-pigs, mice and calves. Mycobactin dependence and serological type were also determined. There was no evidence that mycobactin dependence was related to pathogenicity. Antigenic similarities were demonstrated between M. avium and M. para...

A symptomatic patient had repeatedly positive cultures of Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis after exposure to a hot tub contaminated with M. avium subsp. hominissuis. The pulmonary and tub water isolates were indistinguishable by IS1245 RFLP as well as rep-PCR typing. Discontinued use of the hot tub resulted in culture conversion.

Mycobacterium avium infection was substantially more severe in C57BL/6 (Bcgs) than in (C57BL/6 x DBA/2)F1 hybrid (Bcgr) mice both in terms of bacterial growth in the spleens and lungs and in host survival. Prior Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccination resulted in increased resistance as well as enhanced tuberculin hypersensitivity to both PPD-S (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) and PPD-A (M. avium). Mic...

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Mycobacterium avium, and many other nontuberculous mycobacteria are worldwide distributed microorganisms of major medical and veterinary importance. Considering the growing epidemiologic significance of wildlife-livestock-human interrelation, developing rapid detection tools of high specificity and sensitivity is vital to assess their presence and accelerate ...

Arylsulfatase activities (96-h reaction) of various strains of Mycobacterium avium and M. intracellulare, as identified by a DNA probe test, were measured. The enzyme activities of M. avium strains were significantly lower [corrected] than those of M. intracellulare strains (P less than 0.005 to P less than 0.025). The enzyme activities did not vary with serovar; that is, the activities of sero...