R.

Siddiqui F2013
Modified by DYH

Mycobacterium tuberculosis
General Characteristics: Gram-stain and more
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the causative Mycobacterium tuberculosis is not
agent for the tuberculosis disease in humans.
The bacterium is nonmotile and rod-shaped considered gram-positive or gram-negative
(bacilli). bacteria.
Facultative intracellular parasite, as well as an However, the bacterium may weakly stain
obligate aerobe
This can explain why tuberculosis is a disease that typically gram-positive when gram-stained.
affects the lungs.
Cell wall contains peptidoglycan and lipids, long-
chain alpha-alkyl, beta-hydroxy fatty acids. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an acid-fast
Also contains mycolic acids, cord factor, and wax-D.
bacteria (can be impermeable to many stains
and dyes).
Mycolic acids are significant for virulence in
mycobacterium tuberculosis
Cord Factor: winding-curved cording, toxic to
mammals.
Wax-D: located in the cell envelope (Kenneth
2008)

DNA Characteristics:
-DNA found in macrophages, as well as phagocytic
cells
-posses many genes that contribute to base excision
repair, nucleotide excision repair, recombination
repair, etc. *These characteristics can explain why
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is able to withstand www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/pathology/pathist/SURGPATH/special%20stai
environmental stresses, such as UV radiation. ns/assets/gram1.jpg
 R. Siddiqui F2013
Modified by DYH

Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Pathenogenesis:
Infection of host primarily in lungs.
Once in the lungs, the bacteria are engulfed within
alveolar macrophages, and remain in endocytic
compartments where they mature to become
phagosomes.
The mycobacterium tuberculosis species are able to
inhibit phagosome-lysosome fusion, thus preventing
their destruction.
Formation of granulomas allows infection o effectively
remain in the lungs without dissemination.
(Forrelad 2013)
Invasins:
mce1A has been identified as a gene that plays a role
in the invasion of nonphagocytic cells.
Cell wall proteins include the outer membrane
proteins (OMPs).
play a role in adhesion, and invading the host cell.
-OMPs also play a role in in degrading host structures.
****These are all factors that contribute to the species
impermeability to stains and dyes, antibiotic resistance,
resistance to lysis from host, etc.

Virulence Factors:
-Mycobacterium tuberculosis contain virulence genes that
encode enzymes of many lipid pathways, cell surface
proteins, and regulators and proteins of signal transduction
systems (Forrelad 2013)
http://www.nature
-Additional virulence gene allows for survival of conditions .com/news/2010/1
inside host macrophages. 00609/images/new
s.2010.TB.chest.xra
y.jpg

http://stateschronicle.com/wp-
content/uploads/2013/09/Mycobacterium_tuberculosi
s_14313982_1.jpg http://www.nimr.mrc.ac.uk/images/multimedia/research_group
s/large/Davis-fig-1-full.gif