Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 May;301(1):222-241.
doi: 10.1111/imr.12958. Epub 2021 Mar 7.

Genetics in the Host-Mycobacterium ulcerans interaction

João Fevereiro  1   2 , Alexandra G Fraga  1   2 , Jorge Pedrosa  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Genetics in the Host-Mycobacterium ulcerans interaction

João Fevereiro et al. Immunol Rev. 2021 May.

Abstract

Buruli ulcer is an emerging infectious disease associated with high morbidity and unpredictable outbreaks. It is caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, a slow-growing pathogen evolutionarily shaped by the acquisition of a plasmid involved in the production of a potent macrolide-like cytotoxin and by genome rearrangements and downsizing. These events culminated in an uncommon infection pattern, whereby M. ulcerans is both able to induce the initiation of the inflammatory cascade and the cell death of its proponents, as well as to survive within the phagosome and in the extracellular milieu. In such extreme conditions, the host is sentenced to rely on a highly orchestrated genetic landscape to be able to control the infection. We here revisit the dynamics of M. ulcerans infection, drawing parallels from other mycobacterioses and integrating the most recent knowledge on its evolution and pathogenicity in its interaction with the host immune response.

Keywords: Mycobacterium ulcerans; Buruli ulcer; emerging infectious diseases; host-pathogen interactions.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Maccallum P, Tolhurst JC, Buckle G, Sissons HA. A new mycobacterial infection in man. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1948;60(1):93-122.
    1. World Health Organization. Number of new reported cases of Buruli ulcer. Available from https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/numbe.... Accessed January 22, 2021
    1. Loftus MJ, Tay EL, Globan M, et al. Epidemiology of Buruli ulcer infections, Victoria, Australia, 2011-2016. Emerging Infect Dis. 2018;24(11):1988-1997. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2411.171593
    1. O'Brien DP, Friedman ND, Cowan R, et al. Mycobacterium ulcerans in the elderly: more severe disease and suboptimal outcomes. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015;9(12):e0004253. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004253
    1. Portaels F, Silva MT, Meyers WM. Buruli ulcer. Clin Dermatol. 2009;27(3):291-305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clindermatol.2008.09.021

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources