ESAT-6 a Major Virulence Factor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Biomolecules
; 13(6)2023 06 09.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37371548
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of human tuberculosis (TB), is one of the most successfully adapted human pathogens. Human-to-human transmission occurs at high rates through aerosols containing bacteria, but the pathogen evolved prior to the establishment of crowded populations. Mtb has developed a particular strategy to ensure persistence in the host until an opportunity for transmission arises. It has refined its lifestyle to obviate the need for virulence factors such as capsules, flagella, pili, or toxins to circumvent mucosal barriers. Instead, the pathogen uses host macrophages, where it establishes intracellular niches for its migration into the lung parenchyma and other tissues and for the induction of long-lived latency in granulomas. Finally, at the end of the infection cycle, Mtb induces necrotic cell death in macrophages to escape to the extracellular milieu and instructs a strong inflammatory response that is required for the progression from latency to disease and transmission. Common to all these events is ESAT-6, one of the major virulence factors secreted by the pathogen. This narrative review highlights the recent advances in understanding the role of ESAT-6 in hijacking macrophage function to establish successful infection and transmission and its use as a target for the development of diagnostic tools and vaccines.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Tuberculosis
/
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Biomolecules
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Portugal
Pais de publicación:
Suiza