THE ROLE OF DENDRITIC CELLS AND OTHER IMMUNE MECHANISMS DURING HUMAN INFECTION WITH MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS

Human immune response mechanisms are crucial in the control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. Understanding the human immune mechanisms and Mtb dynamics will assist in understanding the occurrence of different clinical outcomes experienced by individuals infected with Mtb. This work elaborates the role of dendritic cells (DCs) and other immune mechanisms in Mtb infection. We develop a model to predict disease progression scenarios, that is latency or active disease. Model analysis shows that occurrence of active disease is much attributed to the Mtb pathogen's ability to persist outside the intracellular environment and that strong immune response results in latent TB while relatively weak immune response result in active tuberculosis (TB). Our numerical results show that DCs recruitment, antigen (Ag) uptake and maturation affect the priming of the immune response and T cells levels at the site of infection. This study shows the crucial link between the innate immune mechanisms and the adaptive immune mechanisms. It also suggests directions for further basic studies and potential new treatment strategies.