Do resuscitation-promoting factors reveal an occult population of tubercle Bacilli in Sputum?
Smear-positive sputum samples are dominated by a population of Mtb cells that can be grown only in the presence of Rpfs. These intriguing proteins are therefore relevant to human infection. The Rpf-dependent population is invisible to conventional culture and is progressively enhanced in relative terms during chemotherapy, indicating a form of phenotypic resistance that may be significant for both chemotherapy and transmission.
The results imply that chronically administered A1 adenosine modulators lose efficacy over time, partly as a result of receptor down-regulation.