Resistance and tolerance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to antimicrobial agents—How M. tuberculosis can escape antibiotics

Tuberculosis (TB) poses a serious threat to public health worldwide since it was discovered. Until now, TB has been one of the top 10 causes of death from a single infectious disease globally. The treatment of active TB cases majorly relies on various anti-tuberculosis drugs. However, under the selection pressure by drugs, the continuous evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) facilitates the emergence of drug-resistant strains, further resulting in the accumulation of tubercle bacilli with multiple drug resistance, especially deadly multidrug-resistant TB and extensively drug-resistant TB. Researches on the mechanism of drug action and drug resistance of Mtb provide a new scheme for clinical management of TB patients, and prevention of drug resistance. In this review, we summarized the molecular mechanisms of drug resistance of existing anti-TB drugs to better understand the evolution of drug resistance of Mtb, which will provide more effective strategies against drug-resistant TB, and accelerate the achievement of the EndTB Strategy by 2035. This article is categorized under: Infectious Diseases > Molecular and Cellular Physiology.