Immunology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infections

Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious global public health challenge that results in significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. TB is caused by infection with the bacilli ( ), which has evolved a wide variety of strategies in order to thrive within its host. Understanding the complex interactions between and host immunity can inform the rational design of better TB vaccines and therapeutics. This chapter covers innate and adaptive immunity against infection, including insights on bacterial immune evasion and subversion garnered from animal models of infection and human studies. In addition, this chapter discusses the immunology of the TB granuloma, TB diagnostics, and TB comorbidities. Finally, this chapter provides a broad overview of the current TB vaccine pipeline.