Kansenshogaku zasshi. The Journal of the Japanese Association for Infectious DiseasesFeb 2, 2013

New Tuberculosis Drug Possibilities Targeting Bacterial Factors That Disrupt the Body’s Immune Signals

Updated Mar 31, 2026

Abstract

New antituberculous drug targets are needed to combat Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its virulence factors.

Current treatments primarily target metabolic processes essential for the growth of M. tuberculosis in non-cellular environments.
New drug development may focus on inhibiting bacterial virulence factors that affect the signaling pathways in host immune cells.
Targeting mycobacterial virulence factors could alter the internal environment of macrophages, promoting the survival and growth of the bacteria.
Identifying novel drug targets related to virulence factors may enhance the effectiveness of treatments against tuberculosis.

Simplified

Worldwide, tuberculosis remains the most frequent and important infectious disease to cause morbidity and death. However, the development of new drugs for the treatment and prophylaxis of TB has been slow. Therefore, novel types of antituberculous drugs, which act on the unique drug targets in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, particularly the drug targts related to the establishment of mycobacterial dormancy and persistency in host macrophages, are urgently needed. In this context, it should be noted that current antituberculous drugs mostly target the metabolic reactions and proteins which are essential for the growth of M. tuberculosis in extracellular milieus. It may also be promising to develop another type of drug that exhibits an inhibitory action against bacterial virulence factors which cross-talk and interfere with signaling pathways of M. tuberculosis-infected host immunocompetent cells such as macrophages and T cells, thereby changing the intracelluar milieus favorable to intramacrophage survival and growth of infected bacilli. In this review article, I will describe recent approaches to identify and establish novel potential drug targets in M. tuberculosis, especially those related to mycobacterial virulence factors interfering with host cytokine networks, particularly those acting upon intracellular signaling pathways of macrophages.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View Full Text ↗

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

What Lands in Your Inbox Each Week: