Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top 10 causes of mortality worldwide
from a single infectious agent and has significant implications for
global health. In 2018, 1.5 million people died from TB worldwide and
440,000 of those were from India. The WHO End-TB strategy aims to reduce
TB deaths by 95% and new TB cases by 90% by 2035, with a call for more
basic research on TB pathogenesis and immunity. A major hurdle in the
development of effective TB vaccines and therapies is the absence of
defined immune-correlates of protection. In this context, the role of
regulatory T cells (Treg), which are essential for maintaining immune
homeostasis, is even less understood. This review aims to address this
knowledge gap by providing an overview of the emerging patterns of Treg
function in TB. The review also provides a comprehensive critical
analysis of the key features of Treg cells in TB; highlights the
importance of a balanced immune response as being important in TB and
discusses the importance of probing not just Treg frequency but also
qualitative aspects of Treg function as part of a comprehensive search
for novel TB treatments.