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Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease ›› 2025, Vol. 6 ›› Issue (1): 94-101.doi: 10.19983/j.issn.2096-8493.2024141

• Review Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Advances in PD1/PD-L1 inhibitors in tuberculosis research

Yang Shuqi1, Li Feng1,2,3()   

  1. 1Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China
    2Shanghai Research Institute of Major Infectious Diseases and Biosafety, Shanghai 200032, China
    3Tuberculosis Research Center, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Shanghai 201508, China
  • Received:2024-09-24 Online:2025-02-20 Published:2025-02-20
  • Contact: Li Feng E-mail:lifeng@shphc.org.cn
  • Supported by:
    Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project(ZD2021CY001)

Abstract:

Tuberculosis remains one of the most threatening infectious diseases worldwide. In latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, it can remain dormant for long period of time, waiting to be reactivated when the host’s immune function declines. The immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis relies on adaptive immunity, particularly T lymphocytes. Among them, CD4+ T lymphocytes activate macrophages by releasing interferon-γ, while CD8+ T lymphocytes directly kill infected host cells. Long-term chronic infection often leads to T-lymphocyte exhaustion and the immune system is unable to effectively clear pathogens. Programmed death 1(PD-1) and programmed cell death-ligand 1(PD-L1) inhibitors, as immune checkpoint inhibitors, have demonstrated a strong potential for restoring immune response and killing tumor cells, and have been widely used in cancer therapy. However, its functional mechanisms and therapeutic prospect in tuberculosis still need further research. In order to better promote the application of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors in the field of infectious diseases, we reviewed characteristics of T-lymphocyte adaptive immunity in tuberculosis, functions of the PD-1/PD-L1 signaling pathway and their roles in tuberculosis, and summarized and discussed the latest research advances in blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in tuberculosis treatment, aiming to provide a reference for the application of immune checkpoint inhibitors in infectious diseases.

Key words: Immunosuppressive agents, Tuberculosis, T-lymphocytes, Review literature as topic

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