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RenatoLacerda
ProfessorPaulo.Neilsen
ENG1090Section020
11/25/2015
Tuberculosis

nd
AmonginfectiousdiseasetuberculosisRanking2
killerofadultsintheworld,over2

milliondeathsperyearaccordingtotheCentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention(CDC).
Overathirdofthepopulationintheworldareinfectedwithbacteria
Mycobacterium
Tuberculosis
,thesinglecellprotozoatypeofparasitethatcauses(TB)Tuberculosis.TheWorld
HealthOrganization(WHO)estimatedthatonethirdofthepopulationcarriesthebacteriaand
10percentwillbediagnosedwithactiveTB.Thisbacteriahavebeenincreasingresistanttodrug
treatmentsandnewwaysofcombatingthediseaseneedtobefound.
Dr.RobertKochannouncedthediscoveryofthisbacteriaonMarch1882,oneofthe
mostimportantsteptocontrolandreducethisdeadlyinfection.DuringthisperiodTBkilledone
outofsevenpeopleintheUSandEurope.

TherearefourbasicdiagnosedfortheTBinfectiontheskintest(TST),TBbloodtest,

Xray,andsputum.Intheskintestasmallamountofdisassemble
M,Tuberculosis
isinjected
justunderthesurfaceoftheskin,ifaredspotappearsneartheinjectionitmeansthethisperson
hasbeeninfectedbythebacteria,howeveritdoesnotdeterminethattheindividualhasacurrent
infection.ThebloodtestforTBalsocalledinterferongammareleaseassaysorIGRAs
measuringhowtheimmunesystemreactstothebacteria.Ifthepersonhasapositivereactionto

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testthentherewillbegivingothertesttofigureitoutwiththeTBislatent,whichisthefirst
stageofthedisease,meaningthatthepersonhastheinfectionbutshowsnosymptoms.The
secondstageisactiveTBwherebacteriahavereproducedsufficientlywhereitcausedtheperson
toshowsomesymptomoftheinfection,eveniftheyhavesymptomsTBisoftendifficultto
diagnose.Theevidenceofthebacteriacanbeexaminedwiththexraywheredoctorsareableto
identifywhitespotsoninsidethelungs.Sputumisathickfluidproducedbythelungs,asample
ofthesputumiscollectbythepatient,thenathinlayerofthesampleisplacedonaglassslide
whereaseriesofspecialstainswillbeappliedtothesputumandexamineunderafluorescent
microscopeforevidenceofTBbacteria.
Tuberculosisiscontagiousandcanbetransferbycough,speak,sneeze,andspit.A
singlesneezecouldreleaseabout40,000dropletsoftheTbBacteria.Oncetheindividualin
infectedwiththebacteriaandbacteriasuccessfullystartstocolonizethelungtissuetheimmune
systemrespondsbyproducingawaxycoatingoverthebacteriacreatinggranulomas,whichare
clumpsthatquarantinethebacteriabuttheyarenotabletokillthen.Oncetheimmunesystemis
weaktheTBbecomesactive,almosthalfofpeoplewithAcquiredImmuneDeficiency
Syndrome(AIDS)diefromTB.AccordingtoanarticlefromPhys.orgresearchesledby
GobardhanDas,aprofessorattheSpecialCenterforMolecularMedicine,experimentswith
micethatwhereinfectedwithlowdosesofM.tbwerefoundtoincreaseproductionofthehosts
mesenchymalstemcell(MSC),originateintheosteoblast(bonecell)thiscellscandifferentiate
intoavarietyofcellstypesincluding,chondrocytes(cartilagecells),myocytes(musclescells),
andadipocytes(fatcells),inthiscaseitproduceacoatingaroundthelungsgranulomas,butit
alsosuppressestheTlymphocytes(TCells)andwhitebloodcellsthatweresupposedtodestroy

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thebacteria.Thestemcellsalsoproducesnitricoxideandotherimmunosuppressantmolecules.
AccounttoMr.DastheamountofnitricoxideacidisinsufficienttokillM.tb.butenoughto
inactivatetheTcellswhichagaincoulddestroytheM.tbcell.Thisstateofequilibriumis
hypothesizedtoexplainthecauseoflatentTBin90percentofpeoplethatinfectedandthatcan
remaininfectedfortheindividualslife.
Thisdiscoveryof
MycobacteriumTuberculosis
isusingthe

hostsownstemcellstohelp
itsownsurvival,beusedtoinnovatenewmethodsofcontrolandilluminationofthisinfection.
Thesuggestionsistokeepanexcellenthygienealways,andalsothedevelopmentofnewdrugto
aimthespecificMSCsfromcreatingthatnestthelayeraroundthegranulomas,sothatthe
immunesystemwouldbetteraccesstothebacteria.

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M.tuberculosisbacterialcolonies.Credit:CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention.

WorkCited
Belk,Colleen.,andVirginiaBordenMaier.Turnofanancientkiller,Biology:Sciencefor
Life,withphysiology.ThirdEdition,SanFrancisco,California,BenjaminCumming,
2005.256258.
CenterforDiseaseControlandPrevention.WorldTBDay,HistoryofWorldTB.23Jan2014.
USA.gov.20Nov2016.
http://www.cdc.gov/
.
Edwards,Lin.TBbacteriausethebodysstemcellstoprotectthemselves.Phys.org.8Dec
2010.Medicine&Health.11Nov2015.
http://phys.org/news/201012tbbacteriabody
stemcells.html

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