Differential Immune Responses and Underlying Mechanisms of Metabolic Reprogramming in Smooth and Rough Variants of Mycobacterium peregrinum Infections

Ji Won Lee, Ho Won Kim, A-Reum Yu, Hoe Sun Yoon, Minji Kang, Hwan-Woo Park, Sung Ki Lee, Jake Whang, and Jong-Seok Kim

Pathogens, December 13th 2023

Scientists use Axion’s Maestro Z live-cell analyzer to investigate the mechanisms of a common mycobacteria.

Nontuberculous Mycobacterium peregrinum (Mpgm) is a common environmental mycobacteria that can cause a wide range of infections, but the pathogen is not well understood. In this study, researchers use Axion’s Maestro Z live-cell analyzer and other methods to investigate cell viability, immune responses, and metabolic changes in the standard Mpgm-ATCC strain and two clinical strains representing smooth and rough colony morphologies: Mpgm-S and Mpgm-R. Overall, these findings demonstrate that “Mpgm-S displayed greater virulence, triggered a heightened immune response, and induced more profound shifts in bioenergetic metabolism than Mpgm-ATCC and Mpgm-R,” and may “serve as a foundations for future investigations of the pathogenesis of Mpgm.”