Epigenetic changes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its host provide potential targets or biomarkers for drug discovery and clinical diagnosis

Tuberculosis infection caused by the contagious pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is one of the ancient diseases in the world. The problem of drug resistance is a difficulty in tuberculosis treatment. MTB engendered epigenetic changes play vital parts in escaping the host immune response and bring about the persistence as well as bacterial expansion. This article describes the epigenetic changes that occur in the pathogen MTB and its host during infection, including DNA methylation, histone modification and microRNA, and summarizes their research progress in drug discovery and tuberculosis diagnosis, providing new ideas and strategies to combat against drug-resistant tuberculosis.