Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Pathogenesis and therapeutic targets

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant public health concern in the 21st century, especially due to drug resistance, coinfection with diseases like immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and coronavirus disease 2019, and the lengthy and costly treatment protocols. In this review, we summarize the pathogenesis of TB infection, therapeutic targets, and corresponding modulators, including first‐line medications, current clinical trial drugs and molecules in preclinical assessment. Understanding the mechanisms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection and important biological targets can lead to innovative treatments. While most antitubercular agents target pathogen‐related processes, host‐directed therapy (HDT) modalities addressing immune defense, survival mechanisms, and immunopathology also hold promise. Mtb’s adaptation to the human host involves manipulating host cellular mechanisms, and HDT aims to disrupt this manipulation to enhance treatment effectiveness. Our review provides valuable insights for future anti‐TB drug development efforts.

From immunology to artificial intelligence: revolutionizing latent tuberculosis infection diagnosis with machine learning

“…To better understand these strategies, recent studies have explored various mechanisms like phagocytosis, autophagy, and apoptosis utilized by MTB in the host (Fig. 5 ) [ 138 – 140 ]. In addition to studying the mechanisms involved in MTB immune evasion, researchers have explored the energy source and survival status of MTB during latent infection as another approach for discovering biomarkers for differential diagnosis of LTBI.…”