Resumen

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the single most relevant bacterial infectious disease worldwide, causing nearly 8 million new cases annually, with an estimated death toll close to 2 million people per year. The World Health Organization estimates that one third of the world population is latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Latent TB reactivation remains as the most common cause of new cases of active TB, when inflammation, necrosis and pulmonary cavitation lead to tissue erosion and dissemination to uninfected hosts. Current knowledge of events regulating exacerbated inflammatory responses is scarce. However, participation of components fro m both the infectious agent and the host is suspected. In this regard, likely candidates to participate in cavitation are matrix metalloproteases (MMPs). This is a family of proteolytic enzymes required for degrading and reconstructing tissue in either normal or pathological conditions, as well as for processing signaling molecules including cytokines and chemokines. Some studies have reported the induction of MMPs genes in response to mycobacterial infection in cellular models, or how the inhibition of MMPs action modifies the course of tuberculosis infection in murine models.

Palabras clave: Tuberculosis matrix metaloproteases induction.

2011-05-09   |   677 visitas   |   Evalua este artículo 0 valoraciones

Vol. 62 Núm.5. Septiembre-Octubre 2010 Pags. 461-465 Rev Invest Clin 2010; 62(5-ENGLISH)