title: Innate and acquired immune responses to mycobacterial infections: involvement of IL-17A/IL-23 axis in protective immunity.
abstract: Pulmonary tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and continues to be a serious threat to human life. Since M. tuberculosis establishes intracellular parasitism in macrophages, host innate and acquired immune systems have to detect and enhance bactericidal activity against the intracellular bacteria. Understanding of interaction between pathogenic factors of M. tuberculosis and host is also important to understand how immune system copes with the pathogen. In this review, we shortly summarize the mechanisms how innate and acquired immunity recognize M. tuberculosis or M. tuberculosis-infected cells and protects hosts from the infection. Furthermore, IL-17A/IL-23 axis, a recently focused inflammatory cytokine system, is discussed in the context of anti-mycobacterial protective immunity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Host Defense and Vaccinology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan. umemura@comb.u-ryukyu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Umemura
authors.affiliation: Molecular Microbiology Group, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Goro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Matsuzaki
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000276:immunology*; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000276:immunology*; D053759:Interleukin-23 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D032581:Tuberculosis Vaccines; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: C508717:IL17A protein, human; D020381:Interleukin-17; D053759:Interleukin-23; D032581:Tuberculosis Vaccines