. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 May 1.

Published in final edited form as: Drug Discov Today. 2011 Dec 20;17(9-10):514–521. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2011.12.013

Table 3.

Fundamental questions regarding biology of LTBI

Fundamental questions regarding biology of LTBI
1. Do all those with positive IGRA or TST have persistent mycobacterial infection?
2. What immune mechanisms govern progression, control or elimination of infection?
3. What is the protective effect of latent tuberculosis on re-infection and to what degree does treatment of LTBI enhance this?
4. Are latent bacilli exclusively to be found within granulomas?
5. What are the differences in host pathogen interaction and outcome of infection between strains of M. tuberculosis?
6. What are the genetic factors that govern host susceptibility to infection and progression to disease?