Mycobacteria of lung (non-tuberculosis)

BACKGROUND: Distinguishing between non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung infections and pulmonary tuberculosis becomes challenging due to their similar clinical manifestations and radiological images. Consequently, instances of delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis are highly frequent. A feasible and reliable indicator of the existence of NTM in the early stages of the disease would help to solve this dilemma. METHODS: In this study, we evaluated the potential of smear-positive and Xpert assay (Cepheid, USA) negative outcomes as an early indicator of possible NTM infection in a high TB burden setting retrospectively and prospectively...

Non-tuberculosis mycobacterium (NTM) refers to a general term for a large group of mycobacteria, excluding the mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae, which is an opportunistic pathogen. NTM pulmonary disease and pulmonary tuberculosis have very similar clinical and imaging manifestations. Ordinary sputum tests can not distinguish between mycobacterium tuberculosis and NTM accurately, and it needs to be differentiated through detection methods such as mycobacterium culture medium, high-performance liquid chromatography, and molecular biology...

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) is a group of bacteria responsible for causing tuberculosis in animals and humans. In South Africa (S.A), slaughterhouses are registered by the government and closely inspected and audited for hygienic slaughter practices. Meat inspection to detect lesions has been used for passive surveillance, monitoring, and diagnosis of the disease status. Information on the current status of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in livestock in the country is limited. Hence, we investigated the occurrence of Mycobacterium spp...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized oncologic treatment. Whether ICIs increase susceptibility to or provide protection against mycobacterial infections remains controversial. The objective of this narrative review is to summarize the literature on the link between ICI use and mycobacterial infections-tuberculosis and non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections-and to critically discuss evidence linking ICIs with mycobacterial infections, the possible confounders, and, if indeed the ICIs predispose to such infections, the potential mechanisms of how this may occur...

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium leprae, and non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are among the most significant human pathogens within the Mycobacterium genus. These pathogens can infect people who come into contact with biomaterials or have chronic illnesses. A characteristic pathogenic trait of mycobacteria is the development of biofilms, which involves several molecules, such as the GroEL1 chaperone, glycopeptidolipids, and shorter-chain mycolic acids. Bacterial behavior is influenced by nutrients, ions, and carbon sources, which also play a regulatory role in biofilm development...

The objective of this study was to examine the association between the lung lobe-deposited dose of inhaled fine particulate matter (PM2.5 ) and chest X-ray abnormalities in different lung lobes of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), and non-tuberculosis mycobacteria infections (NTM). A cross-sectional study was conducted between 2014 and 2022, comprising 1073 patients who were recruited from chest department clinic in a tertial refer hospital in Taipei City, Taiwan. Ambient 1-, 7-, and 30-day PM2...

Achromobacter xylosoxidans is a common bacterium that rarely causes pneumonia. Determining whether A. xylosoxidans is the cause of lung infection in patients suspected of having chronic infectious lung disease is challenging because it can present with colonization. We report a case of a 56-year-old immunocompetent woman suspected of having non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection on imaging examination and monitored for 3 years. Sputum examinations revealed A. xylosoxidans several times, and it was determined to be a colonization...

Objective: To analyze the diagnostic efficacy of urinary lipoarabinomannan (LAM) antigen detection method in tuberculosis patients, and to provide an experimental basis for the clinical application of urinary LAM kit in China. Methods: From March to May 2023, 228 patients with lung diseases [134 male, 94 female, age 20-82 (44.8±16.7) years] were prospectively collected in Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, including 143 pulmonary tuberculosis patients and 85 non-tuberculosis patients. Urine and sputum samples from patients were collected for traditional etiological detection and urinary LAM antigen detection...

BACKGROUND: Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) can effectively distinguish between Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and Non-tuberculosis mycobacterium (NTM), but when there are overlapping sequences between other pathogens (such as Nocardia otidiscaviarum, Mycobacterium parantracellulare, Mycolicibacterium fluoranthenivorans) and NTM, abnormal amplification curves may appear. CASE PRESENTATION: The clinical manifestations of the three patients were fever and respiratory symptoms...

Non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) can cause severe respiratory infection in patients with underlying pulmonary conditions, and these infections are extremely difficult to treat. In this report, we evaluate a nitric oxide (NO)-releasing prodrug [methyl tris diazeniumdiolate (MD3)] against a panel of NTM clinical isolates and as a treatment for acute and chronic NTM infections in vivo . Its efficacy in inhibiting growth or killing mycobacteria was explored in vitro alongside evaluation of the impact to primary human airway epithelial tissue...

The F1 FO -ATP synthase engine is essential for viability and growth of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) by providing the biological energy ATP and keeping ATP homeostasis under hypoxic stress conditions. Here, we report the discovery of the diarylquinoline TBAJ-5307 as a broad spectrum anti-NTM inhibitor, targeting the FO -domain of the engine and preventing rotation and proton-translocation. TBAJ-5307 is active at low nanomolar concentrations against fast- and slow-growing NTM as well as clinical isolates by depleting intrabacterial ATP...

Tuberculosis and malignancy are major public health problems in developing countries like India and causes significant morbidity and mortality. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an aerobic acid-fast bacilli which is an important pathogen especially complicating clinical status of paediatric oncology patients and treatment of infection with this bacilli is challenging in this subpopulation of patients because of ongoing immunosuppression and relative lack of published guidelines. Atypical presentations of tuberculosis in children also complicate the diagnosis and management...

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence supports that antibodies can protect against active tuberculosis (TB) but knowledge of potentially protective antigens, especially in the airways, is limited. The main objective of this study was to identify antigen-specific airway and systemic immunoglobulin isotype responses associated with the outcome of controlled latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection (LTBI) versus uncontrolled infection (TB) in nonhuman primates. METHODS: In a case-control design, using non-parametric group comparisons with false discovery rate adjustments, we assessed antibodies in 57 cynomolgus macaques which, following low-dose airway Mtb infection, developed either LTBI or TB...

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study aimed to identify the clinical characteristics of patients with concurrent rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and suspected non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections as well as determine their prognostic factors. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 91 patients with RA whose computed tomography (CT) findings suggested NTM infection. Subsequently, we compared the clinical characteristics between patients with and without clinical or radiological exacerbation of NTM-pulmonary disease (PD) and investigated the risk factors for the exacerbation and associated mortality...

BACKGROUND: In cases of thoracic empyema, the presence of a fistula is known to be difficult to treat and associated with a poor prognosis. Few reports have described the management of fistulous empyema caused by lung parenchymal infection. The aim of this study was to describe the outcomes of multidisciplinary management of fistulous empyema caused by pneumonia or lung abscess due to common bacteria and mycobacteria. METHODS: Among 108 cases of empyema surgically treated at Kanagawa Hospital over a 10-year period, 14 patients with fistulous empyema due to common bacteria (CBFE) or fistulous empyema due to mycobacteria (MFE) were analyzed...

Research in human tuberculosis (TB) is limited by the availability of human tissues from patients, which is often altered by therapy and treatment. Thus, the use of animal models is a key tool in increasing our understanding of the pathogenesis, disease progression and preclinical evaluation of new therapies and vaccines. The granuloma is the hallmark lesion of pulmonary tuberculosis, regardless of the species or animal model used. Although animal models may not fully replicate all the histopathological characteristics observed in natural, human TB disease, each one brings its own attributes which enable researchers to answer specific questions regarding TB immunopathogenesis...

Intravenously (IV) delivered BCG provides superior tuberculosis (TB) protection compared with the intradermal (ID) route in non-human primates (NHPs). We examined how γδ T cell responses changed in vivo after IV BCG vaccination of NHPs, and whether these correlated with protection against aerosol M. tuberculosis challenge. In the circulation, Vδ2 T cell populations expanded after IV BCG vaccination, from a median of 1.5% (range: 0.8-2.3) of the CD3+ population at baseline, to 5.3% (range: 1...

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) and Aspergillus are ubiquitous organisms that have the potential to cause significant pulmonary disease in certain clinical contexts. An association is known to exist between NTM and Aspergillus lung infections. However, it is unclear if NTM infection predisposes to Aspergillus infection or vice versa. It is also unclear whether treatment for one results in a favourable ecological niche that facilitates the growth of the other and promotes subsequent clinical disease. An improved understanding of the link between these two pulmonary pathogens is critical to guide improvements in clinical practice, and ultimately, enhance outcomes among patients who are at risk of experiencing these infections, either concomitantly or sequentially...

Functional genomics analysis of Mycobacterium abscessus clinical isolates from chronically infected patients to identify genes under strong evolutionary pressure during lung adaptation identified phoR as one of the most frequently mutated. phoR encodes the histidine kinase (HK) of the two-component regulatory system (TCS) PhoPR. While PhoPR has been extensively studied in Mycobacterium tuberculosis for its role in virulence, little is known about the function of this TCS and the signals governing its activation in M...

BACKGROUND: The taxonomic group of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) encompasses more than 190 species and subspecies, some of which can cause pulmonary and extrapulmonary diseases across various age groups in humans. However, different subspecies exhibit differential drug sensitivities, and traditional detection techniques struggle to accurately classify NTM. Therefore, clinicians need more effective detection methods to identify NTM subtypes, thus providing personalized medication for patients...