Mycobacterium smegmatis cultured in different carbon sources to induce in vitro cholesterol consumption reveals alterations in immune response after infection: a macrophage proteomics analysis.

During Tuberculosis, Mycobacterium uses host macrophage cholesterol as a carbon and energy source. To mimic these conditions Mycobacterium smegmatis cultured in minimal medium (MM) has been used to induce cholesterol consumption in vitro. During cultivation, M. smegmatis con-sumes MM cholesterol and changes the accumulation of the cell wall compounds such as PIMs, LM and LAM, which plays an important role in its pathogenicity. These changes led to cell sur-face hydrophobicity modifications and H2O2 susceptibility. Furthermore, when M. smegmatis in-fects J774A.1 macrophages it induces granuloma-like structures formation. The present study aims to access macrophage molecular disturbances caused by M. smegmatis after cholesterol con-sumption through proteomics analyses.