Shanghai scientists detail protein responsible for TB

Scientists in Shanghai have discovered a smart protein secreted by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), which is responsible for the development of tuberculosis, an infectious disease that has been back on the rise globally partly due to a stagnation in medical research for its cure.

The discovery, published on the website of the UK-based journal Nature on Thursday, was led by a research team headed by Ge Baoxue, a professor from the School of Medicine at Tongji University, and Rao Zihe, an academician from Shanghai Tech University.

After nearly a decade of research, the team found that the protein secreted by MTB can mislead the signal of the human body to attack its own immune system and eventually lead to the development of TB.