Mycobacterium simiae: Harmless colonizer or deadly pathogen?

• Published in: PLoS pathogens Vol. 16; no. 4; p. e1008418
• Main Authors: Jabbour, Jean-Francois, Hamieh, Amal, Sharara, Sima L, Kanj, Souha S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 01.04.2020; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Antigens; Arginine; Biology and Life Sciences; Cell walls; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Cord factor; Cystic fibrosis; Diagnosis; Disease transmission; Distribution; Epidemiology; Genes; Geography; Health aspects; HIV; Host-bacteria relationships; Human immunodeficiency virus; Identification and classification; Infections; Infectious diseases; Internal medicine; Lung diseases; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mycobacteria; Mycobacterium infections; Obstructive lung disease; Ornithine; Pathogenic bacteria; Pathogens; Pearls; People and Places; Proteins; Risk factors; Trehalose; Tuberculosis; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Water supply; Water utilities; India; Lebanon; Beirut Lebanon; Iran; Mexico; Israel; France; Spain
• ISSN: 1553-7374; 1553-7366; 1553-7374
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008418

Some of these genes include arcD, an arginine and ornithine antiporter gene that can play a role in the persistence of the pathogen in host cells. mce operon clusters, which are common to most mycobacteria, are also found in M. simiae. Mce3 proteins are expressed in the infective phase of M. tuberculosis, and the acquisition of Mce proteins have been implicated in the transformation of some bacteria from an environmental to a pathogenic organism, such as in Streptomyces spp. [...]it is hypothesized that the presence of Mce proteins in M. simiae provides it with a pathogenic ability, even though many environmental mycobacteria possess them as well [9]. Other genes include fbpA, fbpC, and fbpD (three out of four antigens from the 85 complex gene), which are not only responsible for cell wall synthesis but also encode enzyme products that play a role in the formation of Cord Factor (also known as trehalose dimycolate). Immunocompetent patients usually develop respiratory infections in the setting of underlying lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, smoking, or a history of pulmonary tuberculosis [20].