Survival of pathogenic Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. massiliense in Acanthamoeba castellanii

We used an amoeba model to study the intracellular growth and cytotoxicity of clinical strains of Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. massiliense (Mabsm) isolated from 2 patients (one with cystic fibrosis, the other one with idiopathic bronchiectasis) during the early (smooth colonies) and late stage (rough colonies) of chronic pulmonary infection. Acanthamoeba castellanii were infected with Mabsm (MOI 100) and samples collected every 24 h for 72 h. Results showed Mabsm is able to survive in trophozoites and persist in cysts for at least 7 days. Late Mabsm demonstrated higher cytotoxicity toward A. castellanii when compared to early strains. A. castellanii is a useful in vitro host model to study infection of Mabsm clinical isolates.