title: Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Copper: A Newly Appreciated Defense against an Old Foe?
abstract: Several independent studies have recently converged upon the conclusion that the human bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis encounters copper during infections. At least three independently regulated pathways respond to excess copper and are required for the full virulence of M. tuberculosis in animals. In this review, I will discuss the functions of the best-characterized copper-responsive proteins in M. tuberculosis, the potential sources of copper during an infection, and remaining questions about the interface between copper and tuberculosis.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine New York, New York 10016 heran.darwin@med.nyu.edu.
authors.forename: K Heran
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Darwin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D003300:Copper / Q000502:physiology*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D003300:Copper
keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis; bacterial pathogenesis; copper; gene regulation; infectious disease; virulence