Mycobacteria are the etiologic agents of numerous diseases which account for significant morbidity and mortality in humans and other animal species. Many mycobacteria are intramacrophage pathogens and therefore the macrophage response to infection, which includes synthesis of cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and production of nitric oxide, has important consequences for...

background and objectives: pigeons are extensively kept for homing and racing purposes in iran. the main objective of this study was to investigate dissemination of m. avium subsp. avium (maa) in pigeon aviaries in tabriz, north-western iran. materials and methods: postmortem pathologic specimens from thirty-nine out of 140 birds collected from private flocks (n = 3), were subjected to bacteria...

BACKGROUND Nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lymphadenitis in children is most often caused by Mycobacterium avium. In a prospective, multicenter trial of the optimal treatment, 23.7% of the NTM cervicofacial lymphadenitis cases in children were caused by Mycobacterium haemophilum. In this article, we describe the epidemiological and clinical features of M. haemophilum cervicofacial lymphadeni...

Murphy JT, Sommer S, Kabara EA, Verman N, Kuelbs MA, Saama P, Halgren R, Coussens PM. Gene expression profiling of monocyte-derived macrophages following infection with Mycobacterium avium subspecies avium and Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis. Physiol Genomics 28: 67–75, 2006. First published October 24, 2006; doi:10.1152/physiolgenomics.00098.2006.—Mycobacterium avium subspecies...

Pulmonary infections caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are an increasing problem in individuals with chronic lung conditions and current therapies are lacking. We investigated the activity of liposomal amikacin for inhalation (LAI) against NTM in vitro as well as in a murine model of respiratory infection. Macrophage monolayers were infected with three strains of Mycobacterium avium, ...

BACKGROUND Rabbits are susceptible to infection by different species of the genus Mycobacterium. Particularly, development of specific lesions and isolation of Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, both subspecies of the M. avium complex, has been reported in wildlife conditions. Although, rabbit meat production worldwide is 200 million tons per year,...

PCR-amplified 16S rRNA gene sequences were obtained directly from tissue specimens from eight cats with presumptive feline leprosy. Acid-fast bacilli were observed in sections from all eight specimens, but culture for mycobacteria was successful for one specimen only. Analysis of the V2 variable region of each 16S rRNA PCR product identified a sequence with 100% nucleotide identity to the seque...

Background The mycobacterial catalase-peroxidases protect it from the reactive oxidative metabolites and allow its survival within the host phagocytes. We compared the virulence of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) clinical isolates with varying catalase activity recovered from the blood of HIV patients in terms of invasiveness and intracellular multiplicity in host cells. The catalase activity...

In the spring of 2015, investigators in Switzerland reported a cluster of six patients with invasive infection with Mycobacterium chimaera, a species of nontuberculous mycobacterium ubiquitous in soil and water. The infected patients had undergone open-heart surgery that used contaminated heater-cooler devices during extracorporeal circulation (1). In July 2015, a Pennsylvania hospital also ide...

Disseminated Mycobacterium avium infection is the major cause of bacteremia in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. We present here a new animal model of this disease, thymectomized C57BL/6 mice that were intravenously infused with monoclonal antibody to selectively deplete CD4+ T cells. The increased susceptibility of such animals to M. avium infection is comparable to that of C57...