The potential role of lung epithelial cells and β-defensins in experimental latent tuberculosis

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Abstract

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a facultative intracellular pathogen capable of producing both progressive disease and latent infection. Latent infection is clinically asymptomatic and is manifested only by a positive tuberculin test or a chest radiograph that shows scars or calcified nodules indicative of resolved primary tuberculosis infection. In this study, we used a well-characterized model of latent tuberculosis infection in B6D2F1 mice to compare the production of β-defensin-3 by infected bronchial epithelial cells and macrophages. We demonstrated by immunolectronmicroscopy that M. tuberculosis can actually infect epithelial cells and induce significant higher production of β-defensin-3 associated to mycobacteria than infected macrophages. These results demonstrate that lung epithelium harbour mycobacteria during experimental chronic infection; being a possible reservoir of latent mycobacteria in vivo, β-defensins might participate in bacilli killing or dormancy induction. © 2008 The Authors.

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Rivas-Santiago, B., Contreras, J. C. L., Sada, E., & Hernández-Pando, R. (2008). The potential role of lung epithelial cells and β-defensins in experimental latent tuberculosis. Scandinavian Journal of Immunology, 67(5), 448–452. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3083.2008.02088.x

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