Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Mar;264(1):319-26.
doi: 10.1111/imr.12256.

Mycobacterial genes essential for the pathogen's survival in the host

Sabine Ehrt  1 , Kyu Rhee, Dirk Schnappinger
Affiliations
Review

Mycobacterial genes essential for the pathogen's survival in the host

Sabine Ehrt et al. Immunol Rev. 2015 Mar.

Abstract

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) has evolved within the human immune system as both host and reservoir. The study of genes required for its growth and persistence in vivo thus offers linked insights into its pathogenicity and host immunity. Studies of Mtb mutants have implicated metabolic adaptation (consisting of carbon, nitrogen, vitamin, and cofactor metabolism), intrabacterial pH homeostasis, and defense against reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen species, as key determinants of its pathogenicity. However, the mechanisms of host immunity are complex and often combinatorial. Growing evidence has thus begun to reveal that the determinants of Mtb's pathogenicity may serve a broader and more complex array of functions than the isolated experimental settings in which they were initially found. Here, we review select examples, which exemplify this complexity, highlighting the distinct phases of Mtb's life cycle and the diverse microenvironments encountered therein.

Keywords: attenuated Mtb mutants; intraphagosomal nutrients; mycobacterial stress resistance.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Flynn JL. Lessons from experimental Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections. Microbes Infect. 2006;8:1179–1188. - PubMed
    1. Sambandamurthy VK, Wang X, Chen B, Russell RG, Derrick S, Collins FM, Morris SL, et al. A pantothenate auxotroph of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is highly attenuated and protects mice against tuberculosis. Nat Med. 2002;8:1171–1174. - PubMed
    1. Schnappinger D, Ehrt S, Voskuil MI, Liu Y, Mangan JA, Monahan IM, Dolganov G, et al. Transcriptional Adaptation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis within Macrophages: Insights into the Phagosomal Environment. J Exp Med. 2003;198:693–704. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Timm J, Post FA, Bekker L-G, Walther GB, Wainwright HC, Manganelli R, Chan W-T, et al. Differential expression of iron-, carbon-, and oxygen-responsive mycobacterial genes in the lungs of chronically infected mice and tuberculosis patients. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2003;100:14321–14326. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Voskuil MI, Schnappinger D, Visconti KC, Harrell MI, Dolganov GM, Sherman DR, Schoolnik GK. Inhibition of respiration by nitric oxide induces a Mycobacterium tuberculosis dormancy program. J Exp Med. 2003;198:705–713. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types