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Toxin-antitoxin systems and biofilm of Mycobacterium tuberculosis |
ZHAO Jili1,*, LIU Wei1,*, WANG Tiepeng2, YUAN Li1 |
1. Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, Medical School of Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China; 2. Department of Biochemistry, Medical School of Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China |
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Abstract Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) is causative pathogen of tuberculosis, and could induce long-term asymptomatic infection, known as latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), in which the bacteria are thought to persist in a dormant state. It is reported that there are pairs of toxin-antitoxin systems (TASs) in chromosomes of M. tuberculosis. Some TASs play roles in the latent infection because they could not only regulate the bacterial growth, but also induce the bacteria to enter dormant state. Some TASs are suggested to be involved in the biofilm formation and stress reaction, but how they regulate biofilm formation has not yet been elucidated. M. tuberculosis in biofilm is resistant to many drugs and host immune protections. M. tuberculosis in dormant state is usually multidrug-resistant. These issues bring challenges for the treatment of tuberculosis. This review focuses on the research progress on TAS and biofilm formation of M. tuberculosis, as well as the effect of anti-tuberculosis drugs on biofilm formation.
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Received: 07 December 2016
Published: 25 December 2017
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Corresponding Authors:
YUAN Li
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