NEW INSIGHTS INTO LATENT TUBERCULOSIS: A PERSISTING GLOBAL HEALTH CHALLENGE
AbstractAfter more than a century, tuberculosis (TB) is still a formidable public health challenge as it contributes considerably to illness and death worldwide, irrespective of continuous advancement in technology and in depth understanding of molecular biology concepts. Mycobacterium tuberculosis persist for longer period in human and animal host in latent state without causing active disease and may reactivate soon after immunity declines. Today’s chemotherapy is lengthy as well as ineffective to control tuberculosis. Moreover, in the absence of fundamental biological understanding of mycobacterial persistence, significant pathogen driven factors and validated animal models, shortening the duration of anti-tuberculosis therapy remains a distant goal. Subsequently, molecular signaling proteins which serve as potential targets should be explored and explicated to limit mycobacterial growth. This review focuses on mechanisms of mycobacterial persistence, various models of latent tuberculosis, identification of crucial gene targets, vaccination and therapeutic approaches to target latent tuberculosis infection.
Article Information
1
1875-1887
665
1051
English
IJPSR
Shivsharan Balbhim Kharatmal, Sarbjit Singh Jhamb* and Prati Pal Singh
Tuberculosis Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Sector - 67, S. A. S. Nagar, Mohali - 160 062, Punjab, India
ssjhamb@gmail.com
05 April, 2011
09 July, 2011
24 July, 2011
http://dx.doi.org/10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.2(8).1875-87
01 August, 2011
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