AUTHOR=Zhang Xianyi , Chen Chan , Xu Yuzhong 

TITLE=Long Non-coding RNAs in Tuberculosis: From Immunity to Biomarkers

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.883513

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.883513

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the leading lethal infectious disease with estimates of approximately 1.3 million deaths in 2020. Despite significant advances have been made in detection techniques and therapeutic approaches for tuberculosis, no suitable diagnostic tools for early and precise screening have been suggested. Many studies have reported that Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a regulatory role in gene expression involved in the host immune response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Dysregulation of lncRNAs expression patterns associated with immunoregulatory pathways arose in mycobacterial infection. Meanwhile, host-induced lncRNAs regulate antibacterial processes such as apoptosis and autophagy to limit bacterial proliferation. In this review, we try to summarize the latest reports on how dysregulated expressed lncRNAs influence host immune response in tuberculosis infection. We also discuss their potential clinical prospects for tuberculosis diagnosis and development as molecular biomarkers.