The Mycobacterial Cell Wall: Structure, Function and Biosynthesis

结核病（TB）是一种生命？这是一种可持续数年的威胁性疾病，在此期间患者身体虚弱，并可能传播导致该病的结核分枝杆菌（Mtb）。在20世纪的最后十年，全世界将至少有3000万人死于结核病。在英国，整个上个世纪结核病病例的稳步下降在20世纪80年代中期停止，并且在某些社区出现了令人担忧的病例数量增加的迹象。艾滋病的流行和结核分枝杆菌菌株的出现使情况更加复杂，结核分枝杆菌菌株对几乎所有通常用于治疗结核的药物都具有耐药性。可以说，在全球范围内，结核分枝杆菌是影响人类的最重要的单一传染病。所有的细菌都有细胞，像植物一样，被包裹在细胞壁中。这保护了生物体免受其直接环境的影响，并偶然地为青霉素等可用于治疗细菌感染的药物提供了重要的靶标。然而，结核分枝杆菌具有独特的细胞壁，其组成与其他细菌不同；特别是它含有大量独特的脂质（脂肪）和糖。虽然有一些药物可以影响独特的结核分枝杆菌细胞壁，但目前的结核病治疗持续6个月，并且对经常提前停止治疗的患者具有潜在毒性。此外，耐药结核分枝杆菌菌株的出现也威胁到治疗效果。因此，非常需要新的和更好的药物来治疗结核病。与公众的沟通将通过伯明翰大学新闻处（http://www.newscentre.bham.ac.uk/office.htm）进行，该办公室已与当地和全国媒体建立了联系。MRC合作小组成员还将通过个人大学网页强调他们的研究，这些网页是开放访问的。这突出了MRC合作小组的临床和研究要素。

Tuberculosis (TB) is a life?threatening condition that can last for several years during which patients are debilitated and may disseminate the bacterium that causes the disease, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). At least 30 million individuals worldwide will have died from TB in the last decade of the 20th century. In the UK the steady decline in TB cases over the whole of the last century halted in the mid 1980s and there has been alarming signs of increased numbers of cases in certain communities. The situation is compounded by the AIDS epidemic and by the emergence of Mtb strains that are resistant to virtually all the drugs that would normally be used to treat TB. It can be argued that, globally, Mtb is the single most important infectious agent affecting mankind. All bacteria have cells that, like plants, are enclosed in a cell wall. This protects the organism from its immediate environment and, fortuitously, presents an important target for drugs, like penicillin, that can be used to treat bacterial infections. However, Mtb has a distinctive cell wall that differs in composition from that of other bacteria; in particular it contains an exceptional amount of unique lipids (fats) and sugars. Although there are drugs that affect the unique Mtb cell wall, the current treatment for tuberculosis lasts 6 months and is potentially toxic to patients who often cease treatment early. Moreover, the efficacy of treatment is threatened by the emergence of drug-resistant strains of Mtb. There is therefore a great need for new and better drugs to treat TB. Communication to the general public will be channelled through the University Press Office at Birmingham (http://www.newscentre.bham.ac.uk/office.htm) which has established contacts in the local and national media. The MRC Co-operative Group members will also highlight there research through personal University based Web pages, which has open access. This highlights the clinical and research elements of the MRC Co-operative Group.