Analyses of Efflux Pump Proteins Involved in M. Tuberculosis and Determination of their Drug Target Potential

Abstract

Mycobacterium tuberculosis was discovered by Dr. Robert Koch in 1882. Tuberculosis has existed throughout history, but the name has changed frequently over time. Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person. It is a serious condition but can be cured with proper treatment. TB mainly affects the lungs. However, it can affect any part of the body, including the bones and nervous system. (Dong park et.al. 2003) Typical symptoms of TB ( Storla et.al. 2008) include: a persistent cough for more than three weeks that brings up phlegm, which may be bloody  weight loss  night sweats  high temperature (fever)  tiredness and fatigue  loss of appetite Mycobacterium tuberculosis, bacteria that causes tuberculosis, has been around for centuries. Recently, fragments of the spinal columns from Egyptian mummies from 2400 B.C.E. were found to have definite signs of the ravages of this terrible disease. Also called consumption, TB was identified as the most widespread disease in ancient Greece, where it was almost always fatal. But it wasn't until centuries later that the first descriptions of the disease began to appear. Starting in the late seventeenth century, physicians began to identify changes in the lungs common in all consumptive, or TB, patients. At the same time, the earliest references to the fact that the disease was infectious began to appear. In 1720, the English doctor Benjamin Marten was the first to state that TB could be caused by “wonderfully minute living creatures.” He went further to say that it was likely that ongoing contact with a consumptive patient could cause a healthy person to get sick. Although Marten's findings didn't help to cure TB, they did help people to better understand the disease.