Biomarker and therapeutic targets for tuberculosis: Role of micro RNAs.

Balaji P, Ramalingam B.

Journal of Investigative Genomics; 2016; 3; 1-5.

Abstract: Effective biomarkers are utmost important for early diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) infection and treatment for successful TB control. Current diagnostic tests are not rapid and sufficient for TB diagnosis. Therefore identification of potential biomarkers for TB will be highly beneficial. microRNA plays pivotal role in various biological processes and involves in shaping immunity by regulating the repertoire of genes expressed in immune cells among mycobacterium tuberculosis infected individuals. This review summarizes; role of miRNAs as immune modulator, recent studies on identification of surrogate biomarker for active and latent TB; finally usage of miRNAs as a novel class of therapeutic drug targets against TB.

Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; miRNA ; Biomarker; Therapeutic drugs; Cytokine regulation; Autophagy; Chemotaxis; Phagocytosis; Tumour necrosis factor; Interferon-γ

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