MDR and Pre-XDR Clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing Strains: Assessment of Virulence and Host Cytokine Response in Mice Infectious Model

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing genotype associated with drug resistance is a growing public health problem worldwide. The aim of this study was the assessment of virulence for C57BL/6 mice after infection by clinical M. tuberculosis strains 267/47 and 120/26, which belong to the modern sublineages B0/W148 and Central Asia outbreak of the Beijing genotype, respectively. The sublineages were identified by the analysis of the strains’ whole-genomes. The strains 267/47 and 120/26 were characterized as agents of pre-extensively drug-resistant (pre-XDR) and multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis, respectively. Both clinical strains were slow-growing in 7H9 broth compared to the M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain. The survival rates of C57BL/6 mice infected by 267/47, 120/26, and H37Rv on the 150th day postinfection were 10%, 40%, and 70%, respectively. Mycobacterial load in the lungs, spleen, and liver was higher and histopathological changes were more expressed for mice infected by the 267/47 strain compared to those infected by the 120/26 and H37Rv strains. The cytokine response in the lungs of C57BL/6 mice after infection with the 267/47, 120/26, and H37Rv strains was different. Notably, proinflammatory cytokine genes Il-1α, Il-6, Il-7, and Il-17, as well as anti-inflammatory genes Il-6 and Il-13, were downregulated after an infection caused by the 267/47 strain compared to those after infection with the H37Rv strain.