Flow cytometry as a tool to identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis interaction with the immune system and drug susceptibility

• Published in: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
• Main Author: Maria da Gloria Bonecini-Almeida
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde 2000
• Subjects: tuberculosis; macrophages; drug susceptibility; cytometry; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Microbiology; QR1-502; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02762000000400008; https://doaj.org/article/2493e9a24e5a40789a11a5c9abda57d7

Flow cytometric analysis is a useful and widely employed tool to identify immunological alterations caused by different microorganisms, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, this tool can be used for several others analysis. We will discuss some applications for flow cytometry to the study of M. tuberculosis, mainly on cell surface antigens, mycobacterial secreted proteins, their interaction with the immune system using inflammatory cells recovered from peripheral blood, alveolar and pleura spaces and the influence of M. tuberculosis on apoptosis, and finally the rapid determination of drug susceptibility. All of these examples highlight the usefulness of flow cytometry in the study of M. tuber-culosis infection.