title: Immune evasion by Mycobacterium tuberculosis: living with the enemy.
abstract: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is successful as a pathogen because of its ability to persist in an immunocompetent host. This bacterium lives within the macrophage, a cell whose function is the elimination of microbes. Recent advances have improved our understanding of how M. tuberculosis evades two major antimicrobial mechanisms of macrophages: phagolysosome fusion and the production of toxic reactive nitrogen intermediates. M. tuberculosis also modulates antigen presentation to prevent the detection of infected macrophages by CD4(+) T cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, W1157 Biomedical Science Tower, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. joanne@pitt.edu
authors.forename: JoAnne L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017951:Antigen Presentation; D005802:Genes, MHC Class II / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology*; D010588:Phagosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D026361:Reactive Nitrogen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D026361:Reactive Nitrogen Species; C072061:coronin proteins