Increased density of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in tuberculosis granuloma

• Published in: Experimental and molecular pathology Vol. 93; no. 2; pp. 207 - 212
• Main Authors: Wang, Decheng, Zhou, Wenjiang, Lu, Shuihua, Wang, Qingnan, Feng, Yanling, Zhu, Guofeng, Li, Liang, Song, Yanzheng, Gao, Qian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01.10.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; Bacterial diseases; Biological and medical sciences; Disease Models, Animal; Granuloma; Granuloma - metabolism; Granuloma - microbiology; Granuloma - pathology; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Lung - metabolism; Lung - microbiology; Lung - pathology; Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF); Macrophage Migration-Inhibitory Factors - metabolism; Male; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous - metabolism; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous - microbiology; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous - pathology; Mycobacterium marinum - physiology; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis - physiology; Pathology. Cytology. Biochemistry. Spectrometry. Miscellaneous investigative techniques; Tuberculosis - metabolism; Tuberculosis - microbiology; Tuberculosis - pathology; Tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterial infections; Zebrafish; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Granuloma; Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF); Mycobacterial infection; Density; Infection; Macrophage migration inhibitory factor; Anatomic pathology; Tuberculosis; Mycobacteriales; Bacteriosis; Mycobacteriaceae; Bacteria; Actinomycetes
• ISSN: 0014-4800; 1096-0945
• DOI: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2012.05.004

Granulomas, the pathologic hallmarks of tuberculosis, are composed of tightly numerous immune cells that respond to a variety of persistent stimuli during pathogen–host interaction. The granuloma is essential for host containment of mycobacterial infection, however, the mechanism of host and pathogen determinants to recruit immune cells at the site of inflammation and the formation of granulomas remains elusive until now. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a cytokine produced by many cell types, modulates cellular and humoral immune responses and promote lymphocytes migration to the site of infection. In this study, we evaluate the expression of MIF in tuberculous granulomas by three different models of diseases: mouse, human tissues and zebrafish. The overall results demonstrated that the expression of MIF positive signals markedly increased in the tissues which have been infected with mycobacterium, whereas a few presence of MIF in the PBS-treated animals (means the control group). In the mycobacterial-infected animals, the MIF positives distributed extensively within the granuloma especially in the multinucleated giant cells. Thus, three independent lines of evidence support the hypothesis that MIF may be an important player in aggregate immune cells to the granuloma microenvironments in these animal models of tuberculosis.