Biomarkers for tuberculosis: the case for lipoarabinomannan

What is it about?

Tuberculosis (TB) is considered the most onerous of infectious diseases according to recent reports from WHO. Available tests for TB diagnosis present severe limitations, and a reliable point-of-care (POC) diagnostic test does not exist. Neither is there a test to discern between the different stages of TB, and in particular to predict which patients are more at risk of advancing from infection to overt disease. We here review the usefulness of a cell wall component of tubercle bacilli (LAM) as a diagnostic marker for TB. There is a high potential for a test that detects LAM in the urine of TB patients.

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