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REVIEW article

Front. Tuberc
Sec. Immunological Basis of Tuberculosis
Volume 2 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/ftubr.2024.1438406

The role of the immune response in developing tuberculosis infection: From latent infection to active tuberculosis

Provisionally accepted
Igor V. Kudryavtsev Igor V. Kudryavtsev 1,2Anna Starshinova Anna Starshinova 1*Artem Rubinstein Artem Rubinstein 3Anastasia Kulpina Anastasia Kulpina 1,4Hong Ling Hong Ling 5Min Zhuang Min Zhuang 5Dmitry Kudlay Dmitry Kudlay 6,7
  • 1 Almazov National Medical Research Centre, Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • 2 Institute of Experimental Medicine (RAS), Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • 3 Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University, Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • 4 Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University, Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • 5 Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
  • 6 I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia
  • 7 Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Moscow, Russia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Despite advancements in modern medicine, tuberculosis continues to be one of the leading causes of death globally. Findings indicate that COVID-19 may trigger the activation of tuberculosis infection (TB), leading to its spread. Despite the development of new immunological diagnostic methods for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), it is still unclear how the infection transitions to an active TB state. The goal of the study is to provide insights into the progression of tuberculosis infection from a latent to an active state. This article presents recent research data focused on investigating the pathogenesis of LTBI, particularly the immune responses in the interaction between Mycobacteria tuberculosis (Mtb) and the host. It describes the mechanisms of T-cell immunity and cytokine activation, supporting the concept of type 1, type 2, and type 3 immune responses. According to the conducted studies, Th17 cells have a significant role in the development of type 3 antigen-specific responses. The cytokines IL-6 and IL-23 activate STAT3, which is necessary to trigger the expression of Th17. Future research on the role of Th17 cells and cytokines, particularly IL-6 and IL-21, may be beneficial in understanding the shift from LTBI to active TB.

    Keywords: Tuberculosis, immune response, Latent Tuberculosis, Active tuberculosis, Pathogenesis, Dendritic Cells, T cells

    Received: 27 May 2024; Accepted: 03 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Kudryavtsev, Starshinova, Rubinstein, Kulpina, Ling, Zhuang and Kudlay. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Anna Starshinova, Almazov National Medical Research Centre, Saint Petersburg, 194156, Russia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.