LURIE M B, ABRAMSON S, HEPPLESTON A G
J Exp Med. 1952 Feb;95(2):119-34. doi: 10.1084/jem.95.2.119.
If genetically resistant and susceptible rabbits inhale a certain number of human type tubercle bacilli, no tuberculosis in the lungs of the resistant animals is seen, as a rule several months after infection, while there is a variable and often extensive disease in the susceptible rabbits. The analogy to the presence or absence of active tuberculosis in man infected with the tubercle bacillus is evident. The inhaled tubercle bacilli multiply for but a short time in the resistant rabbits and are usually rapidly and completely destroyed. In the susceptible rabbits, the bacilli multiply profusely for a much longer time and persist in large numbers even months after inhalation. Whatever be the cause of the more rapid destruction of tubercle bacilli in the resistant animal, the resulting more rapid release of the contained antigens enhances the development of allergic sensitivity and antibodies in these animals. The development of an acquired resistance against tubercle bacilli of the human type is sufficiently rapid to affect the genesis of the initial gross primary pulmonary foci that result from the inhalation of a given number of bacilli. The greater the genetic resistance, the fewer the initial primary foci. Variations in genetic resistance are essentially variations in the rate of development of acquired resistance. It is suggested that variations in genetic resistance to inhaled human type tubercle bacilli may affect the prevalence of alveolar phagocytes capable of acquiring adequate resistance to the growth of the bacilli in their cytoplasm. The prevalence of such cells is subject to hormonal and immunological influences.
如果具有遗传抗性和易感性的兔子吸入一定数量的人型结核杆菌，通常在感染后的几个月内，抗性动物的肺部不会出现结核病，而易感兔子则会出现程度不一且往往广泛的病变。这与感染结核杆菌的人类中活动性结核病的有无情况明显相似。吸入的结核杆菌在抗性兔子体内只会短暂繁殖，通常会迅速且完全被消灭。在易感兔子中，杆菌会大量繁殖更长时间，甚至在吸入数月后仍大量存在。无论抗性动物体内结核杆菌更快被消灭的原因是什么，由此导致的所含抗原更快释放会增强这些动物的过敏敏感性和抗体的产生。对人型结核杆菌获得性抗性的发展足够迅速，足以影响因吸入一定数量杆菌而产生的最初明显的原发性肺病灶的形成。遗传抗性越强，最初的原发性病灶就越少。遗传抗性的差异本质上是获得性抗性发展速度的差异。有人提出，对吸入的人型结核杆菌的遗传抗性差异可能会影响能够在其细胞质中对杆菌生长获得足够抗性的肺泡吞噬细胞的数量。这类细胞的数量受激素和免疫影响。
