Characterizing virulence-specific perturbations in the mitochondrial function of macrophages infected with mycobacterium tuberculosis

To probe how the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis controls host cellular death pathways, we compared mitochondrial responses in human macrophages infected either with the avirulent mycobacterial strain H37Ra, or its virulent counterpart H37Rv. Following H37Ra infection, induction of the apoptotic response was foreshadowed by the early suppression of stress-induced mitochondrial activity. In contrast, mitochondria in H37Rv-infected cells...