ROLE OF MYCOBACTERIOPHAGES + OF CORTISONE IN EXPERIMENTAL TUBERCULOSIS + SARCOIDOSIS

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Abstract
Guinea pigs infected with only 1 gamma of tubercle bacilli and with mycobacteriophage DS6A showed a smaller number of more discrete lesions than those inoculated with the same amount of tubercle bacilli only. However, animals in the former group died at a faster rate than those inoculated with tubercle bacilli only. The administration of cortisone to the phage-infected animals increased the number of lesions but, at the same time, lowered their allergic state and lengthened the period of their survival. The simultaneous infection with tubercle bacilli and mycobacteriophage DS6A gave rise to homologous and heterologous phage antibodies. The level of homologous phage antibodies was below detection in animals receiving cortisone. However, antibodies to bacteriophages with a broader lytic spectrum, and especially antibodies to phage Leo, can be demonstrated in the serum of these animals. From the granulomatous "sarcoid-like" lesions of guinea pigs infected simultaneously with mycobacteriophage DS6A and tubercle bacilli, "atypical" strains of mycobacteria were isolated either alone or in association with typical Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Some of these mycobacterial strains were shown to produce lytic phage particles. When, after repeated subculturing, these bacteria were inoculated into normal guinea pigs, they determined inflammatory reactions, but no "sarcoid-like" lesions. These observations suggest that "sarcoid-like" lesions are caused by a transitory form of mycobacteria which emerges by lysogenization, and from the selective action of phage antibodies.