ANIMAL AND CELL-CULTURE MODELS FOR THE STUDY OF MYCOBACTERIAL INFECTIONS AND TREATMENT

Emerging problems with the treatment of infections caused by Mycobacte rium avium and Mycobacterium tuberculosis require the development of n ew models, both in vitro and in vivo, in which new chemotherapeutic an d immunotherapeutic approaches can be tested. In this brief review, th e use of cell culture models, in which drugs can be tested for their c apacity to inhibit mycobacterial growth within the infected host macro phage, and new models in vivo in which drugs and/or cytokines can be t ested in infected mice are discussed. In this latter case, new emergin g mouse models include animals with engineered gene disruptions, in wh ich severely disseminated infections can be produced, thus mimicking e vents in severely immunocompromised human patients.