Title
Macrophage apoptosis in tuberculosis
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine
Date
3-5-2009
Document Type
Article
Medical Subject Headings
Animals; Apoptosis; Humans; Macrophages; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary
Disciplines
Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences
Abstract
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is an intracellular pathogen that infects alveolar macrophages following aerosol transmission. Lung macrophages provide a critical intracellular niche that is required for Mtb to establish infection in the human host. This parasitic relationship is made possible by the capacity of Mtb to block phagosome maturation following entry into the host macrophage, creating an environment that supports bacillary replication. Apoptosis is increasingly understood to play a role in host defense against intracellular pathogens including viruses, fungi, protozoa and bacteria. In the last 15 years an understanding of the role that macrophage apoptosis plays in TB has begun to emerge. Here we review the history and current state of the art of this topic and we offer a model of the macrophage-pathogen interaction that takes into the account the complexities of programmed cell death and the relationship between various death signaling pathways and host defense in TB.
Rights and Permissions
Citation: Yonsei Med J. 2009 Feb 28;50(1):1-11. Epub 2009 Feb 24. Link to article on publisher's site