Targeting persisters for tuberculosis control.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacterial persisters, the survivors from antibiotic exposure, necessitate the lengthy treatment of tuberculosis (TB) and pose a significant challenge for our control of the disease. We suggest that persisters in TB are heterogeneous in nature and comprise various proportions of the population depending on the circumstances; the mechanisms of their formation are complex and may be related to those required for persistence in chronic infection. Results from recent studies implicate multiple pathways for persister formation, including energy production, the stringent response, global regulators, the trans-translation pathway, proteasomal protein degradation, toxin-antitoxin modules, and transporter or efflux mechanisms. A combination of specifically persister-targeted approaches, such as

SUBMITTER: Zhang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3346619 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature