Does Mycobacterium bovis persist in cattle in a non-replicative latent state as Mycobacterium tuberculosis in human beings?

SABIO Y GARCÍA, JULIA; BIGI, MARÍA M.; KLEPP, LAURA I.; GARCÍA, ELIZABETH A.; BLANCO, FEDERICO C.; BIGI, FABIANA

VETERINARY MICROBIOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2020 vol. 247

0378-1135

Members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) are responsible for tuberculosis in several mammals.In this complex, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis, which are closely related, show host preferencefor humans and cattle, respectively. Although human and bovine tuberculosis are clinically similar, M.tuberculosis mostly causes latent infection in humans, whereas M. bovis frequently leads to an acute infection incattle. This review attempts to connect the pathology in experimental animal models as well as the cellularresponses to M. bovis and M. tuberculosis regarding the differences in protein expression and regulatory mechanismsof both pathogens that could explain their apparent divergent latency behaviour. The occurrence oflatent bovine tuberculosis (bTB) would represent a serious complication for the eradication of the disease incattle, with the risk of onward transmission to humans. Thus, understanding the physiological events that maylead to the state of latency in bTB could assist in the development of appropriate prevention and control tools.