Direct Attachment with Erythrocytes Augments Extracellular Growth of Pathogenic Mycobacteria

1. MAH adhered and invaded human erythrocytes upon coculture in vitro; 2. MAH adhered to erythrocytes through complement receptor 1 and cell-surface sialo-glycoproteins; 3. MAH rapidly proliferated when directly attached to erythrocytes but not within them; 4. other mycobacteria, such as M. intracellulare and M. tuberculosis, also proliferated in the same way as MAH. The finding that pathogenic mycobacteria grow extracellularly in an erythrocyte-dependent manner is of considerable clinical importance for understanding disease progression and latent infection.