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Updated: Apr 5, 2026

A 3D Human Lung Tissue Model for Functional Studies on Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection
Published on: October 5, 2015
Mathematical Model of Oxygen Transport in Tuberculosis Granulomas
Meenal Datta1,2, Laura E Via3,4, Wei Chen1,5
1Edwin L. Steele Laboratories, Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Cox 7, 100 Blossom Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
Abstract:
Pulmonary granulomas--the hallmark of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection--are dense cellular lesions that often feature regions of hypoxia and necrosis, partially due to limited transport of oxygen. Low oxygen in granulomas can impair the host immune response, while MTB are able to adapt and persist in hypoxic environments. Here, we used a physiologically based mathematical model of oxygen diffusion and consumption to calculate oxygen profiles within the granuloma, assuming Michaelis-Menten kinetics. An approximate analytical solution--using a priori and newly estimated parameters from experimental data in a rabbit model of tuberculosis--was able to predict the size of hypoxic and necrotic regions in agreement with experimental results from the animal model. Such quantitative understanding of transport limitations can inform future tuberculosis therapeutic strategies that may include adjunct host-directed therapies that facilitate oxygen and drug delivery for more effective treatment.
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