BACKGROUND The combined use of liquid media and solid media is recommended for mycobacterial culture. We evaluated diagnostic performance of combination of BACTEC Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT; Becton Dickinson, USA) and 2% Ogawa media (Korean Institute of Tuberculosis, Korea) for recovery of mycobacteria. METHODS In September 2007, 1,764 specimens from 1,059 patients were cultured...

PhoP is part of the two-component PhoPR system that regulates expression virulence genes Mycobacteria. The goal this work was to elucidate role in mechanism Mycobacterium bovis, causative agent bovine tuberculosis, displays upon stress. An analysis gene and acidic growth curves indicated M. bovis neutralized external environment by inducing secreting ammonia. We found essential for ammonia prod...

BACKGROUND Most environmental non-tuberculous mycobacteria have been demonstrated to invade amoebal trophozoites and cysts, but such relationships are largely unknown for members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. An environmental source has been proposed for the animal Mycobacterium bovis and the human Mycobacterium canettii. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Using optic and electron mi...

BACKGROUND The clinical significance of the presence of non-tuberculous mycobacteria in the sputum of patients with cystic fibrosis is unclear. A retrospective case-control study was performed to assess possible risk factors for non-tuberculous mycobacteria and its impact on clinical status in patients with cystic fibrosis. METHODS The records of all patients attending the Leeds cystic fibros...

The highly complex nature of interactions of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with cells of the immune system has puzzled researchers the world-over in understanding the pathogenesis and immunology associated with tuberculosis (TB). This has contributed to the delay in development of effective vaccine(s) for TB. Several excellent studies have provided only a glimpse of the kind and degree of immune r...

The control of bovine tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterioses in cattle in developing countries is important but difficult because of the existence of wildlife reservoirs. In cattle farms in Tanzania, mycobacteria were detected in 7.3% of 645 small mammals and in cow's milk. The cattle farms were divided into "reacting" and "nonreacting" farms, based on tuberculin tests, and more mycobacteria...

MicroRNAs are emerging post-transcriptional regulators of gene expressions in both innate immunity and adaptive immunity. In mycobacteria infection, autophagy plays an important role in innate defense mechanism and is tightly regulated by the autophagy-related proteins. Here, we show that Atg2B is involved in the regulation of mycobacteria-induced autophagy. MiR-1303, which function is not defi...

Using molecular techniques, specifically, DNA-DNA hybridization in solution and measurement of the thermal stabilities of hybrids, we examined the genetic relationships among mycobactin-dependent mycobacteria and between such organisms and other (mycobactin-independent) mycobacteria. The mycobactin-dependent mycobacteria examined included five strains of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, two wood...