Leprosy Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 189-0002, Japan. nakanaga＠nih.go.jp
Jpn J Infect Dis. 2013;66(2):83-8. doi: 10.7883/yoken.66.83.
Buruli ulcer (BU) is an emerging human disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, which mainly affects the extremities. It is most endemic in sub-Saharan Africa; however, it has been reported worldwide, including in some non-tropical areas. "M. ulcerans subsp. shinshuense" is proposed as a subspecies of M. ulcerans, which have been reported from Japan and China. A total of 35 BU cases have been reported as of November 2012. Although M. ulcerans is categorized as nontuberculous mycobacteria, it has some unique characteristics that could only be observed in this bacterium. It possesses a giant virulent plasmid, composed of 174-kbp nucleotides, coding polyketide synthase to produce macrolide toxin called mycolactone. The discovery of such a linkage of plasmid and its pathogenesis has not been reported in other human disease-causing mycobacteria.
布鲁里溃疡（BU）是一种由溃疡分枝杆菌引起的新兴人类疾病，主要影响四肢。它主要流行于撒哈拉以南非洲地区；然而，它已在全球范围内报告，包括一些非热带地区。“溃疡分枝杆菌亚种申津野分枝杆菌”被提议为溃疡分枝杆菌的一个亚种，该亚种已在日本和中国报告。截至 2012 年 11 月，共报告了 35 例布鲁里溃疡病例。虽然溃疡分枝杆菌被归类为非结核分枝杆菌，但它具有一些独特的特征，只能在这种细菌中观察到。它拥有一个巨大的毒性质粒，由 174-kbp 核苷酸组成，编码聚酮合酶以产生大环内酯毒素称为 mycolactone。这种质粒及其发病机制的发现尚未在其他引起人类疾病的分枝杆菌中报道。
