Pathology of the emerging Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex pathogen, M. mungi, in the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo)

dc.contributor.authorAlexander, Kathleen A.
dc.contributor.authorLaver, Peter N.
dc.contributor.authorWilliams, Mark C.
dc.contributor.authorSanderson, Claire E.
dc.contributor.authorKanipe, Carly
dc.contributor.authorPalmer, Mitchell V.
dc.date.accessioned2018-03-13T08:16:42Z
dc.date.available2018-03-13T08:16:42Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.description.abstractWild banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) in northeastern Botswana and northwest Zimbabwe are infected with a novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) pathogen, Mycobacterium mungi. We evaluated gross and histologic lesions in 62 infected mongooses (1999–2017). Many tissues contained multifocal irregular, lymphohistiocytic to granulomatous infiltrates and/or multifocal or coalescing noncaseating to caseating granulomas with variable numbers of intralesional acid-fast bacilli. Over one-third of nasal turbinates examined had submucosal lymphohistiocytic to granulomatous infiltrates, erosion and ulceration of the nasal mucosa, bony remodeling, and nasal distortion. Similar inflammatory cell infiltrates expanded the dermis of the nasal planum with frequent ulceration. However, even in cases with intact epidermis, acid-fast bacilli were present in variable numbers among dermal infiltrates and on the epidermal surface among desquamated cells and debris, most commonly in small crevices or folds. In general, tissue involvement varied among cases but was highest in lymph nodes (50/54, 93%), liver (39/53, 74%), spleen (37/51, 73%), and anal glands/sacs (6/8, 75%). Pulmonary lesions were present in 67% of sampled mongooses (35/52) but only in advanced disseminated disease. The pathological presentation of M. mungi in the banded mongoose is consistent with pathogen shedding occurring through scent-marking behaviors (urine and anal gland secretions) with new infections arising from contact with these contaminated olfactory secretions and percutaneous movement of the pathogen through breaks in the skin, nasal planum, and/or skin of the snout. Given the character and distribution of lesions and the presence of intracellular acid-fast bacilli, we hypothesize that pathogen spread occurs within the body through a hematogenous and/or lymphatic route. Features of prototypical granulomas such as multinucleated giant cells and peripheral fibrosis were rarely present in affected mongooses. Acid-fast bacilli were consistently found intracellularly, even in regions of necrosis. The mongoose genome has a unique deletion (RD1mon) that includes part of the encoding region for PPE68 (Rv3873), a gene co-operonic with PE35. These proteins can influence the host’s cellular immune response to mycobacterial infections, and it remains uncertain how this deletion might contribute to observed patterns of pathology. M. mungi infection in banded mongooses is characterized by both a unique transmission and exposure route, as well as accompanying pathological features, providing an opportunity to increase our understanding of MTC pathogenesis across host-pathogen systems.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentParaclinical Sciencesen_ZA
dc.description.librarianhj2018en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was supported in part by the Morris Animal Foundation (grant D14ZO-083) and the National Science Foundation (grant 1518663) as part of the joint NSF-NIH-USDA Ecology and Evolution of Infec-tious Diseases program. K. A. Alexander was also supported in part through the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of General Medical Sciences—Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (grant 5U01GM070694-13).en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://journals.sagepub.com/home/veten_ZA
dc.identifier.citationAlexander, K.A., Laver, P.N., Williams, M.C. et al. 2018, 'Pathology of the emerging Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex pathogen, M. mungi, in the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo)', Veterinary Pathology, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 303-309.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0300-9858 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1544-2217 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1177/0300985817741730
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/64226
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherSageen_ZA
dc.rights© The Author(s) 2017en_ZA
dc.subjectBanded mongoose (Mungos mungo)en_ZA
dc.subjectMycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC)en_ZA
dc.subjectEmerging infectious diseasesen_ZA
dc.subjectEnvironmental pathogenen_ZA
dc.subjectWildlife pathologyen_ZA
dc.subjectTuberculosis (TB)en_ZA
dc.subjectTransmissionen_ZA
dc.subjectOlfactory communicationen_ZA
dc.subjectMycobacterium mungien_ZA
dc.titlePathology of the emerging Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex pathogen, M. mungi, in the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo)en_ZA
dc.typePostprint Articleen_ZA

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