Hypervirulence of a Rough Variant of the <i>Mycobacterium abscessus</i> Type Strain

Abstract

We isolated a rough variant of Mycobacterium abscessus CIP 104536T during experimental infection of mice. We show that this variant has lost the ability to produce glycopeptidolipids, is hyperlethal for C57BL/6 mice infected intravenously, and induces a strong tumor necrosis factor-alpha response by murine monocyte-derived macrophages.