ArticlePLoS pathogens2012
Mycobacterium marinum causes a latent infection that can be reactivated by gamma irradiation in adult zebrafish.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 70 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
70 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 133 citations in OpenAlex.
- Meta-Analysis of Drug Delivery Approaches for Treating Intracellular Infections.Pharmaceutical research · 2022Pooled it
- Systemic Granulomatous Mycobacteriosis in Orbiculate Batfish (Veterinary sciences · 2026Article
- Primary tuberculous mycobacterial granulomas provide a niche for superinfecting Mycobacterium abscessus.Nature communications · 2025Article
- The inflammasome adaptor pycard is essential for immunity against Mycobacterium marinum infection in adult zebrafish.Disease models & mechanisms · 2025Article
- Metabolic Changes in Zebrafish Larvae Infected withMetabolites · 2025Article
- The Impact of Animal Models and Strain Standardization on the Evaluation of Tuberculosis Vaccine Efficacy.Vaccines · 2025Review
- Molecular and microbiological methods for the identification of nonreplicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis.PLoS pathogens · 2024Review
- A review on current advancement in zebrafish models to study chronic inflammatory diseases and their therapeutic targets.Heliyon · 2024Review
- Diving into drug-screening: zebrafish embryos as an in vivo platform for antimicrobial drug discovery and assessment.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2024Review
- Revised whole genome and DNA methylome ofMicrobiology resource announcements · 2024Article
- Understanding the development of tuberculous granulomas: insights into host protection and pathogenesis, a review in humans and animals.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis β-lactamase variant reduces sensitivity to ampicillin/avibactam in a zebrafish-Mycobacterium marinum model of tuberculosis.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Article
- Mycobacterial Genetic Technologies for Probing the Host-Pathogen Microenvironment.Infection and immunity · 2023Review
- Comparative pathology of experimental pulmonary tuberculosis in animal models.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2023Review
- Characterization of the innate immune response to Streptococcus pneumoniae infection in zebrafish.PLoS genetics · 2023Article
- Unusual Mycobacterium marinum Infection in a Heart Transplant Recipient: A Case Report.Cureus · 2022Article
- Clinical and Pathological Findings Associated with Mycobacteriosis in Captive Syngnathids.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Article
- Evidence, Challenges, and Knowledge Gaps Regarding Latent Tuberculosis in Animals.Microorganisms · 2022Review
- Review
10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The mechanisms leading to latency and reactivation of human tuberculosis are still unclear, mainly due to the lack of standardized animal models for latent mycobacterial infection. In this longitudinal study of the progression of a mycobacterial disease in adult zebrafish, we show that an experimental intraperitoneal infection with a low dose (≈ 35 bacteria) of Mycobacterium marinum, results in the development of a latent disease in most individuals. The infection is characterized by limited mortality (25%), stable bacterial loads 4 weeks following infection and constant numbers of highly organized granulomas in few target organs. The majority of bacteria are dormant during a latent mycobacterial infection in zebrafish, and can be activated by resuscitation promoting factor ex vivo. In 5-10% of tuberculosis cases in humans, the disease is reactivated usually as a consequence of immune suppression. In our model, we are able to show that reactivation can be efficiently induced in infected zebrafish by γ-irradiation that transiently depletes granulo/monocyte and lymphocyte pools, as determined by flow cytometry. This immunosuppression causes reactivation of the dormant mycobacterial population and a rapid outgrowth of bacteria, leading to 88% mortality in four weeks. In this study, the adult zebrafish presents itself as a unique non-mammalian vertebrate model for studying the development of latency, regulation of mycobacterial dormancy, as well as reactivation of latent or subclinical tuberculosis. The possibilities for screening for host and pathogen factors affecting the disease progression, and identifying novel therapeutic agents and vaccine targets make this established model especially attractive.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.