Monahan I M, Mangan J A, Butcher P D
Methods Mol Med. 2001;54:31-42. doi: 10.1385/1-59259-147-7:031.
Pathogenicity in Mycobacterium tuberculosis may be thought of as a multifactorial process with both pathogen and host-response effector molecules contributing to the process of infection, leading either to immunopathology and disease or control of infection and long-term persistence. Little is known about this at a genetic level, but it is becoming recognized that bacterial virulence constitutes the correct temporal and spatial regulation of many genes that may be necessary for a particular phase in infection in response to specific environmental cues.
结核分枝杆菌的致病性可被视为一个多因素过程，病原体和宿主反应效应分子都参与感染过程，这一过程要么导致免疫病理和疾病，要么实现感染控制和长期持续存在。在基因层面上对此了解甚少，但人们逐渐认识到细菌毒力构成了许多基因在时间和空间上的正确调控，这些基因可能是感染特定阶段应对特定环境信号所必需的。
