Review: The Molecular Basis of Resistance in Mycobaterium tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a serious global public health problem and its high prevalence is strongly associated with the increase of drug resistance. This steady increase in the frequency of M. tuberculosis strains resistant to one or more agents commonly used to treat tuberculosis has drawn worldwide attention to understanding the molecular basis of resistance in M. tuberculosis. TB resistance is a great concern in the antibiotic resistance pandemic due to the high risk of death, as patients can remain infected for months or years and also because of the difficulty of the treatment. A molecular understanding of the series of events that render M. tuberculosis multi-drug resistant is very important in order to find a fast and appropriated diagnosis as well as a new target for new drugs.