Publication Date
2009
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Nancy Bigley (Advisor), Barbara Hull (Committee Member), Courtney Sulentic (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the world's most infectious diseases. Approximately 2 million people die each year from Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and one-third of the world's population remains infected. For decades research has focused on uncovering the tactics used by Mycobacterium tuberculosis to evade host immune responses and defense mechanisms used to fight tuberculosis infection. The following review focuses on the host defense mechanisms used to combat Mycobacterium tuberculosis with an emphasis placed on the roles that Toll-like receptors (TLRs), T cells (gamma delta, CD4, CD8), and macrophages play in mounting the innate and adaptive immune responses necessary to eradicate this disease. The challenges of designing an effective vaccine to fight Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and the two first-line anti-tuberculosis inhalant drugs, Isoniazid (H) and Rifampicin (R) are also discussed.
Page Count
110
Department or Program
Microbiology and Immunology
Year Degree Awarded
2009
Copyright
Copyright 2009, all rights reserved. This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.
