Abstract
Bovine serum albumin promotes the growth of small inocula of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in media containing unesterified fatty acids. Albumin binds fatty acids present in concentrations toxic for the organisms. In the present study, additional roles of albumin were investigated. When present in a basal medium, fatty acid-free albumin could be utilized by M. tuberculosis as a sole source of carbon. Since albumin could not substitute for the amino acids in basal medium as a nitrogen source, it was concluded that the protein component in albumin was not utilized as a nutrient by the organisms. An ether extract of fatty acid-free albumin supported a small but significant amount of growth. Analysis of the lipids in fatty acid-free albumin by gas chromatography revealed the presence of 686 microgram of fatty acid per g of albumin. Although a small amount of growth occurred when a lipid extract of albumin was present in the medium, growth stimulation was dependent in major part on the presence of undenatured albumin in the medium. Lipids, when bound to albumin, can serve as a nontoxic source of carbon and energy.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Brezina O., Drobnicovă I., Drobnica L. Proliferation Mycobacterium tuberculosis from mouse lung tissue on various carbon sources. Nature. 1967 Jun 3;214(5092):1036–1037. doi: 10.1038/2141036b0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- DOLE V. P., MEINERTZ H. Microdetermination of long-chain fatty acids in plasma and tissues. J Biol Chem. 1960 Sep;235:2595–2599. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- HIRSCH J. G. Charcoal media for the cultivation of tubercle bacilli. Am Rev Tuberc. 1954 Dec;70(6):955–976. doi: 10.1164/art.1954.70.6.955. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Spector A. A., John K., Fletcher J. E. Binding of long-chain fatty acids to bovine serum albumin. J Lipid Res. 1969 Jan;10(1):56–67. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stinson M. W., Solotorovsky M. Interaction of Tween 80 detergent with mycobacteria in synthetic medium. I. Effect of Tween 80 on the growth and turbidimetric response of Mycobacterium avium cultures. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1971 Nov;104(5):717–727. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1971.104.5.717. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- YOUMANS A. S., YOUMANS G. P. Studies on the metabolism of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. IV. The effect of fatty acids on the growth of M. tuberculosis var. hominis. J Bacteriol. 1954 Jun;67(6):731–733. doi: 10.1128/jb.67.6.731-733.1954. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]