title: Challenging Mycobacterium tuberculosis dormancy mechanisms and their immunodiagnostic potential.
abstract: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the etiologic agent of tuberculosis, one of the world's greatest cause of morbidity and mortality due to infectious disease. Many evolutionary mechanisms have contributed to its high level of adaptation as a host pathogen. Prior to become dormant, a group of about 50 genes related to metabolic changes are transcribed by the DosR regulon, one of the most complex and important systems of host-pathogen interaction. This genetic mechanism allows the mycobacteria to persist during long time periods, establishing the so-called latent infection. Even in the presence of a competent immune response, the host cannot eliminate the pathogen, only managing to keep it surrounded by an unfavorable microenvironment for its growth. However, conditions such as immunosuppression may reestablish optimal conditions for bacterial growth, culminating in the onset of active disease. The interactions between the pathogen and its host are still not completely elucidated. Nonetheless, many studies are being carried out in order to clarify this complex relationship, thus creating new possibilities for patient approach and laboratory screening.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Microbiology and Immunology, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexandre Silva
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Chaves
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Microbiology and Immunology, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Michele Fernandes
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Microbiology and Immunology, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Márcia Menezes
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mattos
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Microbiology and Immunology, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil. Electronic address: henrique.teixeira@ufjf.edu.br.
authors.forename: Henrique Couto
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Teixeira
mesh_terms: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D057131:Immune Evasion; D007159:Immunologic Tests; D055985:Latent Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C542863:DosR protein, Mycobacterium tuberculosis; D011494:Protein Kinases; C542862:DosT protein, Mycobacterium tuberculosis
keywords: Diagnosis; DosR antigens; Latency; Tuberculosis