Reactive nitrogen and oxygen species: Friend or foe in the tuberculosis fight

MARTÍ, MARCELO A.; GALIZIA, JORDANA

Tuberculosis (Edinb)

CHURCHILL LIVINGSTONE

Año: 2018 vol. 113 p. 175 - 176

1472-9792

We have read with great joy the letter to the editor, written by Yewet al., which analyzes and compares several recent articles [1?4]showing the intimate relationship between Mycobacterium tuberculosis´(Mtb) redox status - mainly due to the presence of Reactive Nitrogenand Oxygen Species (RNOS) - and tubercular drug efficacy. Given thefact that tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease for which there is alimited arsenal of effective drugs, it is crucial to find new drugs or tosomehow enhance pre-existing treatments. In this context, it is of greatrelevance to understand: how the redox status of mycobacteria can bemodulated using small molecules, how this modulation impacts in boththe bactericidal/static effect of available drugs used in TB treatmentand how the presence of RNOS affects mycobacteria (eventually killingthem) and relates to induction and escape of Mtb dormancy. The pictureis however more complicated, since also the host´s redox status needs tobe considered and has recently been shown to be a key determinant ofTB treatment outcome [5,6]. Therefore, and as it will be presentedbriefly below, the question of whether RNOS presence is positive ornegative in the context of TB treatment is still a matter of intense debateand research.