Copyright
©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Role of cytokines and other factors involved in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection
Tania Beatriz Romero-Adrian, Jorymar Leal-Montiel, Graduate Studies in Immunology, Institute of Biological Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zulia, Maracaibo-Venezuela 4011, Venezuela
Gerardo Fernández, Service of Pediatric, Southern General Hospital, Maracaibo 4004, Zulia State, Venezuela
Alejandra Valecillo, Rheumatology and Immunology Service, University Hospital, Maracaibo 4011, Zulia State, Venezuela
Author contributions: Romero-Adrian TB reviewed the data, analyzed the data, wrote the paper and organized the review; Leal-Montiel J provided data and opined on the review; Fernández G and Valecillo A provided data.
Supported by Institute of Biological Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Tania Beatriz Romero-Adrian, Physician, Pediatrician, Parasitologist, Magister Scientiarum in Clinical Immunology, Medical Sciences Doctor, Graduate Studies in Immunology, Institute of Biological Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zulia, 69 B Avenue 77-49 Street, Maracaibo-Venezuela 4011, Venezuela. betrizromero@cantv.net
Telephone: +58-0261-7532659 Fax: +58-0261-7533822
Received: June 9, 2014
Peer-review started: June 10, 2014
First decision: July 10, 2014
Revised: November 18, 2014
Accepted: February 4, 2015
Article in press: February 9, 2015
Published online: March 27, 2015
Peer-review started: June 10, 2014
First decision: July 10, 2014
Revised: November 18, 2014
Accepted: February 4, 2015
Article in press: February 9, 2015
Published online: March 27, 2015
Core Tip
Core tip: Cytokines are proteins that can alter the behavior or properties of the cell itself or of another cell. These proteins are involved in the immunopathology of different diseases. Study of the cytokines in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is very important. They participate in the establishment, persistence and evolution of the infection. The intricate complexity of these regulating proteins stimulate the investigation to the search of more effective treatments that permit the eradication of a disease as tuberculosis which is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide despite efforts made by the scientific community.