CD271~+ Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells May Provide a Niche for Dormant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

摘要

Mycobacterium tuberculosis [Mtb) can persist in hostile intracellular microenvironments evading immune cells and drug treatment. However, the protective cellular niches where Mtb persists remain unclear. We report that Mtb may maintain long-term intracellular viability in a human bone marrow (BM)-derived CD271~+/CD45~ mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSC) population in vitro. We also report that Mtb resides in an equivalent population of BM-MSCs in a mouse model of dormant tuberculosis infection. Viable Mtb was detected in CD271~+/CD45~ BM-MSCs isolated from individuals who had successfully completed months of anti-Mtb drug treatment. These results suggest that CD271~+ BM-MSCs may provide a long-term protective intracellular niche in the host in which dormant Mtb can reside.