The Search for New Agonists to P2X7R for Clinical Use: Tuberculosis as a Possible Target

Treatment for tuberculosis is effective with the use of proper antibiotics, but the number of drug-resistant cases is increasing. Drug resistance occurred in 650,000 cases of the 20 million patients in treatment worldwide in 2011, which demonstrates the necessity of finding new therapeutic approaches. In this context, the search for new medicines and immunomodulators could help reduce the prevalence and incidence of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis cases. Thus several preclinical studies demonstrate the involvement of the P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) in the control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a natural agonist for P2X7R, promotes MTB death and the induction of apoptosis in monocytes and macrophages infected with MTB via activation of P2X7R by extracellular ATP. In addition, P2X7R activation in the presence of ATP increases the expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II by macrophages infected with Mycobacterium bovis (BCG) or MTB, which contributes to the generation of the antimicrobial immune response via T cells. Nevertheless, one idea that seems overlooked by the “purinergic community” is the use of the high-conductance channel associated with P2X7R to increase the passage of hydrophilic drugs to the cytoplasm of cells that express the P2X7 pore, a potential method for a drug delivery system. In this work, we propose the use of P2X7 agonists in conjunction with low molecular weight anti-tuberculosis medicines for the treatment of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis.