Response of inbred mice to aerosol challenge with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

An autosomal dominant gene (Bcg), which maps to mouse chromosome 1, has been shown to confer on mice resistance to attenuated Mycobacterium bovis BCG Montreal, Salmonella typhimurium, and Leishmania donovani. Most animal models used for the study of the Bcg gene have involved intravenous injection of a large number of microorganisms (greater than 10(4) CFU). The present study examines the effect of the Bcg gene on the resistance of inbred mice to challenge via the respiratory route with 5 to 10 CFU of virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The number of tubercle bacilli recovered from the lung lobes indicates that the growth kinetics of the microorganism did not differ between BCG-resistant and BCG-susceptible strains of mice. The number of tubercle bacilli recovered from the spleen was also similar among strains. Although there were reproducible differences in the time of first recovery of bacilli from the spleen, these differences appeared to be unrelated to the expression of the Bcg gene. When mice were challenged with purified protein derivative, all strains responded similarly as observed by measurements of footpad swelling.