CLR induces greater erm(41) expression and thus higher macrolide resistance than AZM in M. abscessus infection. AZM may be more effective against M. abscessus, whereas both macrolides appear to be equally effective against M. massiliense.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis heparin-binding hemagglutinin (HBHA), a virulence factor involved in extrapulmonary dissemination and a strong diagnostic antigen against tuberculosis, is both surface-associated and secreted. The role of HBHA in macrophages during M. tuberculosis infection, however, is less well known. Here, we show that recombinant HBHA produced by Mycobacterium smegmatis effectively induces apoptosis in murine macrophages. DNA fragmentation, nuclear condensation, caspase activation, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage were observed in apoptotic macrophages treated with HBHA. Enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and Bax activation were essential for HBHA-induced apoptosis, as evidenced by a restoration of the viability of macrophages pretreated with N-acetylcysteine, a potent ROS scavenger, or transfected with Bax siRNA. HBHA is targeted to the mitochondrial compartment of HBHA-treated and M. tuberculosis-infected macrophages. Dissipation of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨm) and depletion of cytochrome c also occurred in both macrophages and isolated mitochondria treated with HBHA. Disruption of HBHA gene led to the restoration of ΔΨm impairment in infected macrophages, resulting in reduced apoptosis. Taken together, our data suggest that HBHA may act as a strong pathogenic factor to cause apoptosis of professional phagocytes infected with M. tuberculosis.

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Background: Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is the causative agent of Johne and Crohn diseases. Results: CobT contributes to the development of T cell immunity through the activation of dendritic cells (DC). Conclusion:CobT is a novel DC maturation-inducing antigen that drives Th1 polarized-naive/memory T cell expansion. Significance: CobT can be an important candidate for the development of vaccine and a IFN-␥-based diagnostic tool.