Abstract
Dormancy models for
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
play important roles
in understanding various aspects of tuberculosis pathogenesis and in the testing of
novel therapeutic regimens. By simulating the latent tuberculosis infection, in which
the bacteria exist in a non-replicative state, the models demonstrate reduced
susceptibility to antimycobacterial agents. This minireview outlines the models
available for simulating latent tuberculosis both
in vitro
and in
several animal species. Additionally, this minireview discusses the advantages and
disadvantages of these models for investigating the bacterial subpopulations and
susceptibilities to sterilization by various antituberculosis drugs.