Mycobacterium Tuberculosis 16kDa Products

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the most common cause of tuberculosis. Primary infection begins with inhalation of 1 to 10 aerosolized bacilli. The pathogenicity of the organism is determined by its ability to escape host immune responses as well as eliciting delayed hypersensitivity. Alveolar macrophages engulf the invading cells but are unable to mount an effective defense. Several virulence factors are responsible for this apparent failure; most notably in the mycobacterial cell wall are the ...