Limited mycobacterial infection of the liver as a consequence of its microanatomical structure causing restriction of mycobacterial growth to professional phagocytes

P Seiler; R A Schwendener; S Bandermann; V Brinkmann; L Grode; S H Kaufmann; P Aichele

doi:10.1128/IAI.69.12.7922-7926.2001

Limited mycobacterial infection of the liver as a consequence of its microanatomical structure causing restriction of mycobacterial growth to professional phagocytes

Infect Immun. 2001 Dec;69(12):7922-6. doi: 10.1128/IAI.69.12.7922-7926.2001.

Authors

P Seiler¹, R A Schwendener, S Bandermann, V Brinkmann, L Grode, S H Kaufmann, P Aichele

Affiliation

¹ Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, D-10117 Berlin, Germany.

Abstract

Among sites of extrapulmonary growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the liver is the least infected. Our data suggest that this is due to the complete restriction of mycobacterial growth to liver macrophages. Unlike in organs more persistently seeded by M. tuberculosis, in the liver the bacteria do not infect cell types other than professional phagocytes.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Colony Count, Microbial
Liver / cytology
Liver / microbiology*
Lung / microbiology
Macrophages / microbiology*
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Mycobacterium tuberculosis / pathogenicity*
Spleen / microbiology
Tuberculosis / microbiology*