Regulators of membrane trafficking and Mycobacterium tuberculosis phagosome maturation block

The biogenesis and maturation of phagosomes is an area of study which has b een employing aspects of proteomic analyses and variations on that theme by identifying components on isolated organelles and following their dynamic changes and interactions with the endocytic pathway. In the case of Mycobac terium tuberculosis phagosome, the arrest of its maturation in infected mac rophages, referred to in classical texts as the inhibition of phagosome-lys osome fusion, represents a phenomenon that is used to functionally dissect the phagosomal maturation pathway. In this review, we summarize the recent studies on regulators of membrane trafficking and other organelle component s in the context of phagosomal biogenesis and mycobacterial phagosome matur ation arrest.