Interrelation of Ca2+ and PE_PGRS proteins during Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogenesis.

In today's era tuberculosis is a major threat to human population. The lethality of this disease is caused by very efficiently thrived bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). Ca2+ plays crucial role in maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Bacilli survival in human alveolar macrophages majorly depends on disruption in Ca2+ signaling. Bacilli sustainability in phagosome lies in the interruption of phagolysosomal fusion, which is possible because of low intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Bacilli contain various Ca2+ binding proteins which help in regulation of Ca2+ signaling for its own benefit. For the survival of pathogen, it requires alteration in normal Ca2+ concentration in healthy cell. In this review we aim to find the various Ca2+ binding domains which are present in several Ca2+ binding proteins of M. tuberculosis and variety of roles played by Ca2+ to survive bacilli within host cell. This manuscript emphasizes the Ca2+ binding domains present in PE_PGRS group of gene family and their functionality in M. tuberculosis survival and pathogenesis.