INDUCTION OF IL-1-BETA, IL-6, TNF-ALPHA, GM-CSF AND G-CSF IN HUMAN MACROPHAGES BY SMOOTH TRANSPARENT AND SMOOTH OPAQUE COLONIAL VARIANTS OFMYCOBACTERIUM-AVIUM

Both smooth transparent (SmT) and smooth domed-opaque (SmD) colonial v ariants were obtained from a strain of Mycobacterium avium isolated fr om a patient with AIDS. The two variants showed similar biochemical ch aracteristics but SmT bacteria proliferated better than SmD bacteria i nside human macrophages and were much less capable than the SmD varian t of inducing the release of IL-1 beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha, GM-CSF and G- CSF, after incubation for either 3 or 6 days. As cytokines are importa nt extracellular signals for immune cells, the lack of induction obser ved in SmT-infected macrophages may be one of the pathogenic mechanism s of M. avium.