PUBLICATION

Protection and pathology in TB: learning from the zebrafish model

Authors
Meijer, A.H.
ID
ZDB-PUB-150903-5
Date
2016
Source
Seminars in immunopathology   38(2): 261-73 (Review)
Registered Authors
Meijer, Annemarie H.
Keywords
Mycobacterium marinum, Tuberculosis, Granuloma, Innate immunity, Inflammation, Autophagy
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Autophagy
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Granuloma
  • Humans
  • Macrophages/immunology
  • Macrophages/metabolism
  • Macrophages/parasitology
  • Macrophages/pathology
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis/physiology*
  • Neutrophils/immunology
  • Neutrophils/metabolism
  • Neutrophils/microbiology
  • Neutrophils/parasitology
  • Toll-Like Receptors/metabolism
  • Tuberculosis/etiology*
  • Tuberculosis/metabolism
  • Tuberculosis/pathology
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
26324465 Full text @ Semin Immunopathol
Abstract
Zebrafish has earned its place among animal models of tuberculosis. Its natural pathogen, Mycobacterium marinum, shares major virulence factors with the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In adult zebrafish, which possess recombination-activated adaptive immunity, it can cause acute infection or a chronic progressive disease with containment of mycobacteria in well-structured, caseating granulomas. In addition, a low-dose model that closely mimics human latent infection has recently been developed. These models are used alongside infection of optically transparent zebrafish embryos and larvae that rely on innate immunity and permit non-invasive visualization of the early stages of developing granulomas that are inaccessible in other animal models. By microinjecting mycobacteria intravenously or into different tissues, systemic and localized infections can be induced, each useful for studying particular aspects of early pathogenesis, such as phagocyte recruitment, granuloma expansion and maintenance, vascularization of granulomas, and the phagocyte-mediated dissemination of mycobacteria. This has contributed to new insights into the mycobacteria-driven mechanisms that promote granuloma formation, the double-edged role of inflammation, the mechanisms of macrophage cell death that favor disease progression, and the host-protective role of autophagy. As a result, zebrafish models are now increasingly used to explore strategies for adjunctive therapy of tuberculosis with host-directed drugs.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping