Microbiology and Immunology 2500A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Lepromatous Leprosy, Bone Resorption, Semisynthesis

• School: Western University
• Department: Microbiology and Immunology
• Course: Microbiology and Immunology 2500A/B
• Professor: John Mc Cormick

Document Summary

Mycobacteria: m. tuberculosis causative agent of tuberculosis in humans. Ofte(cid:374) (cid:272)alled (cid:862)tb(cid:863) for tu(cid:271)er(cid:272)le (cid:271)a(cid:272)illi: m. bovis causes tuberculosis in cows, rarely in humans. Humans can be infected by the consumption of unpasteurized milk leading to extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Human gets m. bocvis from unpasteurized milk: m. avium can cause a tuberculosis-like illness in humans, particularly in aids patients, m. leprae causing agent of leprosy in humans. First isolated by robert koch in 1882. Can be grown in the lab on specialized media but takes 4-6 weeks to get small colonies. Genetic experiments almost travail, but this for tb makes you at least a year to extract if you are good. Mycobacteria have an unusual cell envelope with high conc. of mycolic acid- (cid:858)(cid:449)a(cid:454)(cid:455)(cid:859) The unusual cell envelope is associated with resistance to: Lethal oxidative stress promoting survival inside of macrophages. (cid:862)gra(cid:373) positi(cid:448)e(cid:863) a(cid:272)id fast stain (a hallmark of mycobacteria)