Comparative survival of environmental and clinical Mycobacterium abscessus isolates in a variety of diverse host cells.

AIMS: Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. abscessus (MABS) is an emerging, opportunistic pathogen found globally in freshwater biofilms and soil. Typically, isolates are treated as a uniform group of organisms and very little is known about their comparative survival in healthy host cells. We posit that environmentally- and clinically derived isolates, show differential infectivity in immune cells and resistance to innate defenses. METHODS AND RESULTS: Six MABS isolates were tested including three water biofilm/soil and three sputum-derived isolates. A clinical MABS type strain and an environmental isolate of Arthrobacter were also included. MABS counts were significantly higher compared to Arthrobacter after co-culture with Acanthamoeba lenticulata, BEAS-2B epithelial cells, alveolar macrophages and the THP-1 macrophage cell line. A rough sputum-derived MABS isolate emerged as an isolate with higher virulence compared to others tested, as both a pellicle and cord former, survivor in the human cell models tested, inducer of high and prolonged production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and the capacity to evade LL-37. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support intraspecies variation between MABS isolates. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: These data indicate subversion of host immune defenses by environmental and clinical MABS isolates is nuanced and maybe isolate dependent, providing new information regarding the pathogenesis of NTM infections.