Trends in Microbiology
Volume 18, Issue 3, March 2010, Pages 117-123
Journal home page for Trends in Microbiology

Review
Mycobacterium abscessus: a new player in the mycobacterial field

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2009.12.007Get rights and content

Mycobacterium abscessus, a relative of Koch's bacillus (the bacterium that causes tuberculosis), has recently emerged as the cause of an increasing number of both community- and hospital-acquired infections in humans; it also constitutes a serious threat for cystic fibrosis patients. This situation is worsened by its exceptionally high natural and acquired antibiotic resistance that complicates treatment. Although a rapid grower, it shares some traits with Koch's bacillus, including the ability to induce a persistent lung disease associated with caseous lesions, a landmark of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Its genome sequence and microarrays are now available, and efficient genetic tools have recently been developed. Here we consider the various advantages of using this species as an experimental model to study tuberculosis and other related mycobacterial diseases.

Section snippets

Mycobacteria: from ‘historic’ to new human pathogens

Unlike other bacterial genera that contain only a handful of species, the Mycobacterium genus is large. Over one hundred species have been described so far and new ones are frequently reported. One of their common traits is a complex waxy cell envelope that plays an active role in the virulence process (Figure 1) (Refs 1, 2); in addition, this hydrophobic layer forms an exceptionally tight permeability barrier, rendering mycobacteria naturally resistant to a wide variety of environmental

Tuberculosis: models and limitations

The clinical importance of mycobacterial diseases, and particularly tuberculosis, has prompted researchers to study different species and to develop complementary tools to facilitate the construction of mutants and the study of the physiopathology of the disease in various cellular and animal models [9]. These studies elucidate the molecular mechanisms of virulence and persistence of these bacteria, thereby paving the way for the development of improved diagnostics, vaccine candidates and new

M. abscessus: the ‘ugly duckling’

M. abscessus was long considered to be a subspecies of Mycobacterium chelonae, a rapid grower infecting amphibians and fishes (Figure 2). Historically, these two organisms were not distinguished from each other and were designated ‘M. chelonae’, or even grouped with Mycobacterium fortuitum under the designation ‘M. fortuitum complex’ [20]. The species name ‘abscessus’ was originally coined after a case report of a human knee infection with deep subcutaneous abscess-like lesions [21]. It was

M. abscessus: a new actor on the scene

Although M. abscessus was only recently recognized as a pathogen, more than 400 publications about this species can be found in the Medline database at time of writing. There are over 32,000 articles in Medline concerning tuberculosis, underlining the emerging status of M. abscessus. The clinical importance of M. abscessus, combined with the fact that this species is the only pathogenic rapid grower, has led to the recent sequencing of its genome by a French consortium [43]. DNA microarrays

Concluding remarks

A number of tools are now available for the study of M. abscessus and, in particular, for the characterization of its virulence and its natural and acquired drug resistance. These range from genomic resources to genetic tools including in vitro and in vivo experimental models. The study of this emerging species opens new horizons for the analysis of mycobacterial pathogenesis and evolution. M. abscessus is closely related to the major RGM that are pathogenic for humans, including M. chelonae

Acknowledgements

We thank F. Jaubert, Pathology Department, Hospital ‘Necker-Enfants Malades’ (Paris, France) for the kind gift of the photograph shown in Figure 3. We thank Vladimir Pelicic and Marek Drab for critically reading and discussing this manuscript. H.M. is funded by a grant from ‘Vaincre la Mucoviscidose’.

Glossary

Caseous necrosis
caseation (caseum, ‘cheese’) is the basic process of tuberculosis disease in humans; this comprises the ‘solid’ necrosis that results from destruction of the tissue by the host's immune response.
GPL
glycopeptidolipid is a monoglycosylated fatty-acylated peptide that is further modified by small variable oligosaccharides. It is located at the outer surface of the mycobacterial cell wall.
Granuloma
a special type of inflammatory reaction typical of (but not specific to) mycobacterial

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