Research progress on virulence-related genes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Virulence plays an important role in tuberculosis, because only virulent strians can be pathogenic. Virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis means the ability to cause tuberculosis, and the pathogenicity is also associated with virulent factors. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a typical intracellular pathogen,but only virulent strains can survive and reproduce intracellularly. Virulent factors play a key role in the proliferation of virulent strain macrophage. At present,little is known about the mechanisms of virulence-relaetd genes and virulent factors. This review summarizes several virulence-relaetd genes which are researched extensively. Key words: Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Virulence gene