Soler NG, Forrellat BM, Romero DY

Language: Spanish
References: 0
Page: 191-204
PDF size: 945.29 Kb.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Tuberculosis is one of the most alarming diseases facing the contemporary world, and it is estimated that approximately one third of the world population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This bacterium has begun to show broad resistance to a large number of anti-tuberculosis drugs, becoming one of the greatest challenges for public health worldwide. Objectives: to describe the different molecular mechanisms by which Mycobacterium tuberculosis is able to evade the immune response of the host and establish latent infection. Methods: a review of the literature was conducted, in English and Spanish, through the PubMed website and the Google academic search engine of articles published in the last 10 years. An analysis and summary of the reviewed bibliography was made. Development: Mycobacterium tuberculosis manages to evade the immune response of the host through three fundamental mechanisms: arrest or arrest of the phagosome-lysosome fusion; resistance against the reactive metabolites of nitrogen and nitric oxide; and the interference with antigen presentation to MHC class II molecules. Conclusions: macrophages constitute the main cellular niche for the intracellular growth of the bacteria in all phases of the infection; however, the bacillus is able to evade the immune response by different mechanisms and the knowledge of these will allow the creation of new therapeutic strategies for the control and eradication of the disease.