In tuberculosis, infecting mycobacteria are phagocytosed by macrophages, which then migrate into deeper tissue and recruit additional cells to form the granulomas that eventually contain infection. Mycobacteria are exquisitely adapted macrophage pathogens, and observations in the mouse model of tuberculosis have suggested that mycobacterial growth is not inhibited in macrophages until adaptive immunity is induced. Using the optically transparent and genetically tractable zebrafish embryo-Mycobacterium marinum model of tuberculosis, we have directly examined early infection in the presence and absence of macrophages. The absence of macrophages led rapidly to higher bacterial burdens, suggesting that macrophages control infection early and are not an optimal growth niche. However, we show that macrophages play a critical role in tissue dissemination of mycobacteria. We propose that residence within macrophages represents an evolutionary trade-off for pathogenic mycobacteria that slows their early growth but provides a mechanism for tissue dissemination.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 6. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 09 November 2022.
All research outputs
#7,591,124
of 34,410,315 outputs
Outputs from Cell Host & Microbe (Science Direct)
#2,196
of 3,238 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#26,493
of 116,127 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Cell Host & Microbe (Science Direct)
#8
of 14 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,410,315 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 73rd percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,238 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 49.5. This one is in the 30th percentile – i.e., 30% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 116,127 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 64% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 14 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 28th percentile – i.e., 28% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
