Instituto de Biotecnología, CICVyA-INTA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Virulence. 2013 Jan 1;4(1):3-66. doi: 10.4161/viru.22329. Epub 2012 Oct 17.
The Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) consists of closely related species that cause tuberculosis in both humans and animals. This illness, still today, remains to be one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. The mycobacteria enter the host by air, and, once in the lungs, are phagocytated by macrophages. This may lead to the rapid elimination of the bacillus or to the triggering of an active tuberculosis infection. A large number of different virulence factors have evolved in MTBC members as a response to the host immune reaction. The aim of this review is to describe the bacterial genes/proteins that are essential for the virulence of MTBC species, and that have been demonstrated in an in vivo model of infection. Knowledge of MTBC virulence factors is essential for the development of new vaccines and drugs to help manage the disease toward an increasingly more tuberculosis-free world.
结核分枝杆菌复合群（MTBC）由密切相关的物种组成，可导致人类和动物的结核病。尽管时至今日，这种疾病仍然是全球发病率和死亡率的主要原因之一。分枝杆菌通过空气进入宿主，一旦进入肺部，就会被巨噬细胞吞噬。这可能导致杆菌迅速被清除，也可能引发活动性结核感染。MTBC 成员为应对宿主免疫反应，进化出了大量不同的毒力因子。本综述旨在描述对 MTBC 物种的毒力至关重要的细菌基因/蛋白，这些基因/蛋白已在感染的体内模型中得到证实。了解 MTBC 的毒力因子对于开发新疫苗和药物以帮助控制疾病、迈向一个结核感染率越来越低的世界至关重要。
