TB and Inflammasome: A Complex Relationship

The reputation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) as one of the most successful human pathogens has been corroborated bysignificant experimental and clinical evidence. It infects the human host for long enough to co-evolve with the host, developing a robust repertoire of effectors to evade the immune response of the host. It has the capability to survive and multiply inside the very tools of the host immune system that are employed to eradicate it. Granuloma is a classical structure formed as a compensatory step in which both the host and the pathogen benefit partially. While a lot of mycobacterial virulence factors like cell wall envelope components, secreted proteins and dormancy regulon have been researched extensively, the comparatively newer concepts of inflammasomes need much attention. This chapter is an attempt to understand the complex relationship between the inflammasomes and Mtb in light of recent studies. With the emerging problems of drug resistance in the treatment of Tb, understanding the relationship between inflammasome and Mtb may present newer avenues in the development of host-directed therapy (HDT) strategies for combating Tb . 

Keywords: Caspase-1, Interleukin-1beta, Innate immunity, Inflammasome, Mtb, Pattern recognition receptors, Pyroptosis, Virulence.