Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a respiratory pathogen responsible for tuberculosis. A primary pathologic feature of M. tuberculosis infection is the formation of a granuloma. Immune cells migrate to the lung and then through the lung to the site of infection to form a granuloma. This structure contains the infection, and is often maintained for a long period of time. The signals responsible for granuloma formation and maintenance are largely unknown. Since chemokines and chemokine receptors direct cells to specific sites within the tissues, it is plausible that these cells participate in granuloma formation. In this review, the current literature on chemokines and M. tuberculosis infection, as well as the specific role that tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) plays in granuloma formation and chemokine expression are discussed.

中文翻译：

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趋化因子和肺结核。

结核分枝杆菌是引起结核的呼吸道病原体。结核分枝杆菌感染的主要病理特征是肉芽肿的形成。免疫细胞迁移到肺部，然后通过肺部到达感染部位，形成肉芽肿。此结构包含感染，并且通常需要长期维护。肉芽肿形成和维持的信号在很大程度上是未知的。由于趋化因子和趋化因子受体将细胞引导至组织内的特定部位，因此这些细胞参与肉芽肿的形成是合理的。在这篇综述中，讨论了有关趋化因子和结核分枝杆菌感染的最新文献，以及肿瘤坏死因子α（TNF-alpha）在肉芽肿形成和趋化因子表达中的特定作用。