[SENSORS IN MYCOBACTERIA FOR THE DETECTION OF REDOX STRESS].

Mycobacterium species are exposed to oxidative and nitrosylative stress from environments within and outside the host cells. After the host is infected with the bacilli, macrophages produce superoxide molecules via NADPH oxidase activity and nitric oxide (NO) via inducible NO synthase activity to kill the bacilli. The pathogenic bacilli can successfully survive in host cells via anti-oxidative and anti-nitrosylative mechanisms. In particular, Mycobacterium tuberculosis persisters pose a great problem for chemotherapy because most anti-mycobacterial drugs are ineffective against mycobacteria that are in the persistent state. In accordance with the changes in redox balance, the bacilli change their metabolic pathways from aerobic to anaerobic ones, thereby leading to a change from an actively growing state to a dormant state. Therefore, M. tuberculosis is expected to be equipped with sensors that detect redox stress in the environment such that it can switch to the dormant state and change its metabolic pathways accordingly. In this review, roles of the mycobacterial O2, NO, and CO gas sensors, DosS and DosT, consisting of the DosR regulon, and mycobacterial DNA binding proteins WhiBs, which contain iron-sulfur clusters, in latent infection are discussed.