Fred Goldberg machines in the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Regulated proteolysis is found in all forms of life, from bacteria to humans, and plays essential roles in all areas of physiology. The bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis has three, chambered ATP-dependent proteases needed to cause lethal infections in animals, making them attractive targets for drug development. Here, I review the latest developments in what is known about how caseinolytic proteases and proteasomes function to contribute to the virulence of one of the world's deadliest pathogens.