Autophagy in the fight against tuberculosis
#MMPMID25607549
Bento CF
; Empadinhas N
; Mendes V
DNA Cell Biol
2015[Apr]; 34
(4
): 228-42
PMID25607549
show ga
Tuberculosis (TB), a chronic infectious disease mainly caused by the tubercle
bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is one of the world's deadliest diseases
that has afflicted humanity since ancient times. Although the number of people
falling ill with TB each year is declining, its incidence in many developing
countries is still a major cause of concern. Upon invading host cells by
phagocytosis, M. tuberculosis can replicate within infected cells by arresting
the maturation of the phagosome whose function is to target the pathogen for
elimination. Host cells have mechanisms of controlling this evasion by inducing
autophagy, an elaborate cellular process that targets bacteria for progressive
elimination, decreasing bacterial loads within infected cells. In addition,
autophagy activation also aids in the control of inflammation, contributing to a
more efficient innate immune response against M. tuberculosis. Several innovative
TB therapies have been envisaged based on autophagy manipulation, with some of
them revealing high potential for future clinical trials and eventual
implementation in healthcare systems. Thus, this review highlights the recent
advances on the innate immune response regulation by autophagy upon M.
tuberculosis infection and the promising new autophagy-based therapies for TB.
|*Drug Design
[MESH]
|Animals
[MESH]
|Antitubercular Agents/immunology/*therapeutic use
[MESH]
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