Is the host cell nucleus required for Mycobacteria infection?

• Grant number: 09/14665-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: December 01, 2009
• End date: October 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Biology and Physiology of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Sylvia Luisa Pincherle Cardoso Leão
• Grantee: Cristiane de Souza Carvalho
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The question of title will be answered by Mycobacterium spp infection of non macrophages cell artificially enucleated (cytoplasts). Enucleation interrupts the gene transcription and partially mRNA processing, arresting the signaling dependent of cell nucleus. Slow growth pathogenic mycobacteria, as M. tuberculosis and M. Avium, survive within cells in fagossomos little acidified and non-fusogenic, and interrupt the innate and acquired defense mechanisms. Fast-growing mycobacteria present in the environment (water, soil) and animals (Protozoa, poultry, fish), usually considered little pathogenic, as M. fortuitum, M. abscessus and M. smegmatis, also can induce serious diseases in humans and animals. Like other intracellular pathogens, mycobacteria may secrets virulence factors and modulate the host cell gene expression. This modulation can benefits the cell, the pathogen, human or animal host or be neutral. Until now the need for new gene transcription for intracellular infection has only been studied in a restricted number of pathogens, which do not include Mycobacterium spp. This project aims to determine whether the different stages of infection- internalization and intracellular localization-as well as survival and eventual proliferation of Mycobacteria may occur at non-macrophages cells artificially enucleated. One or more of these steps could be inhibits, increased or not affected by enucleation. The Mycobacterium chosen in this project are M. Avium, M. abscessus and M. smegmatis, and the host cell is the lung epithelial cells-A549.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

RIBEIRO, GIOVANNI MONTEIRO; MATSUMOTO, CRISTIANNE KAYOKO; REAL, FERNANDO; TEIXEIRA, DANIELA; DUARTE, RAFAEL SILVA; MORTARA, RENATO ARRUDA; LEAO, SYLVIA CARDOSO; CARVALHO-WODARZ, CRISTIANE DE SOUZA. Increased survival and proliferation of the epidemic strain Mycobacterium abscessus subsp massiliense CRM0019 in alveolar epithelial cells. BMC Microbiology, v. 17, SEP 13 2017. (09/14665-9, 12/04913-8, 13/16018-6)