Epigenetic code during mycobacterial infections: therapeutic implications for tuberculosis
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Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
FEBS Journal
Abstract
Epigenetics involves changing the gene function without any change in the
sequence of the genes. In the case of tuberculosis (TB) infections, the
bacilli, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), uses epigenetics as a tool to protect
itself from the host immune system. TB is a deadly disease-causing
maximum death per year due to a single infectious agent. In the case of
TB, there is an urgent need for novel host-directed therapies which can
effectively target the survival and long-term persistence of the bacteria
without developing drug resistance in the bacterial strains while also reducing
the duration and toxicity associated with the mainstream anti-TB
drugs. Recent studies have suggested that TB infection has a significant
effect on the host epigenome thereby manipulating the host immune
response in the favor of the pathogen. M.tb alters the activation status of
key genes involved in the immune response against TB to promote its survival
and subvert the antibacterial strategies of the host. These changes are
reversible and can be exploited to design very efficient host-directed therapies
to fight against TB. This review has been written with the purpose of
discussing the role of epigenetic changes in TB pathogenesis and the therapeutic
approaches involving epigenetics, which can be utilized for targeting
the pathogen.
Description
Keywords
drug-resistant tuberculosis; epigenetics; immunotherapy; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; vaccine