Dear Colleagues,

Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex organisms that caused nearly 1.3 million deaths and 10 million new cases among humans worldwide in 2022. In addition, about a fourth of the global human population has been estimated to have latent Mtb infections (LTBIs), which are largely asymptomatic. However, under immunocompromising conditions, LTBI can be reactive to symptomatic TB, fueling the burden of global TB cases. Since currently available anti-TB drug regimens and vaccines are inadequate, improved intervention strategies are urgently needed to control the global TB crisis. After successful implantation into the lungs, Mtb enters the host cells, mainly the phagocytes, which try to eliminate the infecting bacteria. The secretion of cytokines and effector molecules by the infected cells leads to the recruitment and activation of additional immune cells from circulation. This organized accumulation of immune cells surrounding Mtb-infected phagocytes is called the granuloma, a hallmark in TB pathogenesis. Within the granuloma, intricate host–pathogen interactions and signaling events direct the course and outcome of Mtb infection. However, the host- and pathogen-derived molecules and their signaling mechanisms that contribute to differential clinical outcomes, such as active and latent TB, remain largely unknown. Similarly, the molecular and cellular events of how Mtb evades host defense, including vaccine-induced protective immunity, as well as the activities of anti-TB drugs are not fully understood. In this Special Issue, we invite high-quality original articles and reviews pertaining to the molecular and cellular signaling aspects of TB pathogenesis, mechanisms of host evasion by Mtb, including anti-TB drug resistance mechanisms, as well as host-directed therapy. The suggested topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Host–pathogen interaction studies using in vitro and/or in vivo model systems;
• Mtb- and/or vaccine-induced host immune responses;
• Systems approach to evaluate host and/or Mtb components of active TB, and LTBI with or without co-occurrence with other infections and diseases;
• Host- and/or pathogen-mediated drug-resistance pathways;
• Evaluation of novel vaccines, drugs, and host-directed therapies for TB in animal models;
• Development and evaluation of novel model systems to study the spectrum of TB pathogenesis.

Dr. Selvakumar Subbian
Guest Editor

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• tuberculosis
• mycobacterium
• vaccines