title: The bacterial and host factors associated with extrapulmonary dissemination ofMycobacterium tuberculosis.
abstract: With high morbidity and mortality worldwide, tuberculosis (TB) is still an important public health threat. The majority of human TB cases are caused byMycobacterium tuberculosis. Although pulmonary TB is the most common presentation,M. tuberculosiscan disseminate into other organs and causes extrapulmonary TB (EPTB). The dissemination of bacteria from the initial site of infection to other organs can lead to fatal diseases, such as miliary and meningeal TB. Thoroughly understanding the mechanisms and pathways of dissemination would develop therapies to prevent the lethal prognosis of EPTB (miliary and meningeal TB) and vaccines to promote the development of adaptive immunity. This review focuses on risk factors of EPTB, bacterial and host genes involved in EPTB, and potential mechanisms ofM. tuberculosisextrapulmonary dissemination.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: The Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kong
keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis; bacterial genes; dissemination; extrapulmonary; host genes; risk factors