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ESAT-6 Independent Survival and Virulence:Need For Paradigm Shift?
Tuberculosis is a major health concern that has received lot of attention from researchers across the world. The virulent form of tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb), a highly evolved, slow-growing, facultative pathogen. In the literature, the major suspected pathway responsible for its virulence is the Esx-1 secretion system owing to the properties attributed by ESAT-6 secretion. By arguing through literature instances that support ESAT-6 secretion independent virulence, this review not only questions ESAT-6 secretion as a sole readout to virulence, but also, suggests survivability as a likely separable property from virulence in mycobacterium, ultimately trying to create a tiny breach to the existing paradigm of thinking in mycobacterial pathogenesis in relation to ESAT-6 secretion.
Keywords
ESAT-6 Secretion, Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Virulence, Survivability.
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