Analysis of Post-Phagocytic Events: Membrane trafficking and the Mycobacterium tuberculosis phagosome

Mycobacterium tuberculosis subverts the normal membrane trafficking pathway of the host cell: it prevents the maturation and acidification of its phagosome, and thereby achieves a phagosome that is hospitable for its growth. The composition of the phagosome and the interactions between the phagosome and other host cell organelles have been studied by a variety of different techniques, including transmission electron microscopy, immunoelectron microscopy, immunofluorescence microscopy, and biochemical and immunological analysis of isolated phagosomes. In addition, the pH of the phagosome has been studied both by fluorescence and electron microscopy based techniques. Each of these methods for characterizing the properties and 26the membrane trafficking interactions of the M. tuberculosis phagosome has advantages and disadvantages, and each technique has the capacity to complement the other techniques in providing a more complete picture of the composition and membrane trafficking interactions of the M. tuberculosis phagosome.