About this Research Topic
Furthermore, all mycobacteria possess intrinsic and acquired high level drug resistance to many important antimicrobial families, significantly limiting available treatment options. Therefore, new and improved therapeutic strategies are needed for better control of TB, leprosy and NTM diseases. Pathogenic mycobacteria are able to hijack host macrophages and exploit cellular machinery to create an intracellular niche capable of facilitating bacterial replication and protecting bacteria from immune detection. However, the host and pathogen determinants underpinning the progression of mycobacterial infection into active disease, versus containment of infection are not fully understood. Therefore, advanced molecular and cellular immunologic studies are needed for better understanding of host-pathogen interactions during mycobacterial infections.
At present, vaccination of young children with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), developed more than a century ago, is the only TB preventive measure endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, the efficacy of BCG vaccination in preventing TB development among children is highly variable; it does not protect against TB in adults and is not recommended for individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). There is currently no vaccine, specific against M. leprae, which provides complete protection towards leprosy; however, administration of the BCG has been shown to provide some protective effects among those susceptible to infection by M. leprae. Although the BCG vaccine was originally intended for use against M. tuberculosis, the proposed mechanism for the protective properties of BCG against M. leprae involve cross-reactivity B cells and T cells against mycobacterial antigens that are shared between different mycobacterial species.
Thus, more efficacious vaccines are urgently needed to protect various human populations against all mycobacterial diseases, including TB and leprosy.
Together, it is imperative that there is an urgent and unmet need to further our understanding of mycobacterial pathogenesis, improve diagnostic tools for the identification of mycobacterial species, and explore novel drug and vaccine candidates for the treatment and prevention of mycobacterial infections and/or disease. As such, the goal of this research topic is to highlight the latest scientific research in the following areas, including:
• Host-pathogen interactions of mycobacterial spp.
• Mycobacterial pathogenesis (including co-infections)
• Mycobacterial drug resistance mechanisms (innate and acquired)
• Improved diagnostic testing for mycobacterial disease
• Novel therapies to treat mycobacterial infections
• Vaccine development for the prevention of mycobacterial diseases
We are particularly interested in receiving manuscripts in the format of original research articles, review articles (full and mini-reviews), and any other article types which prescribe to the overall goal of the Special Issue
Keywords: mycobacterial diseases, TB, NTM diseases, mycobacterium, tuberculosis, non-tuberculous mycobacteria, mycobacterium leprae, mycobacterial drug resistance, diagnostic, therapies, vaccine
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