Mycobacteria and autophagy: Many questions and few answers

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). TB is one of the world’s deadliest diseases, with one-third of infected individuals falling ill each year especially in many developing countries. Upon invading host cells, such as macrophages, Mtb can replicate in infected cells by arresting phagosome maturation and then potentially escaping into the cytosol. Host cells have a mechanism to control intracellular Mtb by inducing autophagy, which is an elaborate cellular process to target intracellular pathogens for degradation in infected cells. However, some factors of Mtb are involved in defense against killing by autophagy. Thus, this review highlights the recent advances in the interactions between autophagy and Mtb.