Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Examining how T cells combat tuberculosis

La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) is working to guide the development of new tuberculosis vaccines and drug therapies. Now, a team of LJI scientists has uncovered important clues to how human T cells combat Mycobacterium ...

Medications

Treating tuberculosis when antibiotics no longer work

Researchers have identified new antibiotic molecules that target Mycobacterium tuberculosis and make it less pathogenic for humans. In addition, some of the discovered substances may allow for a renewed treatment of tuberculosis ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Mozambique faces alarming multidrug-resistant tuberculosis epidemic

With one of the highest tuberculosis (TB) incidences (368 cases/100,000 population) in the African region, Mozambique is particularly affected by the TB epidemic. Drug-resistant TB is also a major problem, with 4,800 new ...

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is a pathogenic bacterial species in the genus Mycobacterium and the causative agent of most cases of tuberculosis. First discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch, M. tuberculosis has an unusual, waxy coating on the cell surface (primarily mycolic acid), which makes the cells impervious to Gram staining; acid-fast techniques are used instead. The physiology of M. tuberculosis is highly aerobic and requires high levels of oxygen. Primarily a pathogen of the mammalian respiratory system, MTB infects the lungs, causing tuberculosis.

The M. tuberculosis genome was sequenced in 1998.

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