Dow, C.T.; Lin, N.W.; Chan, E.D. Sarcoidosis, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and Noncaseating Granulomas: Who Moved My Cheese. Microorganisms2023, 11, 829.
Dow, C.T.; Lin, N.W.; Chan, E.D. Sarcoidosis, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and Noncaseating Granulomas: Who Moved My Cheese. Microorganisms 2023, 11, 829.
Dow, C.T.; Lin, N.W.; Chan, E.D. Sarcoidosis, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and Noncaseating Granulomas: Who Moved My Cheese. Microorganisms2023, 11, 829.
Dow, C.T.; Lin, N.W.; Chan, E.D. Sarcoidosis, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and Noncaseating Granulomas: Who Moved My Cheese. Microorganisms 2023, 11, 829.
Abstract
Clinical and histological similarities between sarcoidosis and tuberculosis have driven repeated investigations looking for a mycobacterial cause of sarcoidosis. Over 50 years ago “anonymous mycobacteria” were suggested to have a role in the etiology of sarcoidosis. Both tuberculosis and sarcoidosis have a predilection for lung involvement though each can be found in any area of the body. A key histopathologic feature of both sarcoidosis and tuberculosis is the granuloma – while the tuberculous caseating granuloma has an area of caseous necrosis with a cheesy consistency; the non-caseating granuloma of sarcoidosis does not have this feature. This article reviews and reiterates the complicity of the infectious agent, Mycobacterium avium ss. paratuberculosis (MAP) as a cause of sarcoidosis. MAP is involved in a parallel story as the putative cause of Crohn’s disease, another disease featuring noncaseating granulomas. MAP is a zoonotic agent infecting ruminant animals and is found in dairy products and in environmental contamination of water and air. Despite increasing evidence tying MAP to several human diseases, there is a continued resistance to embracing its pleiotropic roles. "Who Moved My Cheese" is a simple yet powerful book that explores the ways in which individuals react to change. Extending the metaphor, the “non-cheesy” granuloma of sarcoidosis actually contains the difficult-to-detect “cheese”, MAP; MAP did not move, it was there all along.
Medicine and Pharmacology, Pathology and Pathobiology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
