Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the worldâs major health problems. It is estimated that 8.6 million people developed TB, and 1.3 million died from the disease in 2012. Because of the increased drug-resistance of the causative bacterium M. tuberculosis (Mtb), about a half of the multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients were not successfully treated globally in 2010. Thus, it is urgent to identify novel therapeutic targets for developing drugs that can treat drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB. Since Mtb is an intracellular pathogen mainly residing in macrophages, thus elucidating the mechanisms underlying Mtb-macrophage interactions is crucial to the development of Mtb-host interfaces-targeted therapeutics. Shaped by eons of co-evolution with its host, the most successful human intracellular pathogen Mtb can persist in macrophages for long periods in a dormant state by deploying numerous strategies to evade host immunity. Several studies have revealed a variety of processes that are important for intracellular survival of Mtb.
Last date updated on April, 2024