The impact and mechanism of HIV infection on tuberculous granuloma formation.

The co-infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and HIV continues to pose a major challenge to healthcare systems. Currently, the effects of HIV infection on tuberculous granulomas are not fully understood. This review discusses the impact of HIV infection on the formation and function of tuberculous granulomas, highlighting key immunological mechanisms and the interactions between HIV and MTB infections. The co-infection results in atypical granulomas with weakened immune defenses, which facilitate the dissemination of MTB and accelerate the progression of tuberculosis. Additionally, this review explores current animal models used for studying HIV/MTB co-infection, including nonhuman primates, humanized mice, and zebrafish, and emphasizes their limitations in fully replicating human pathological characteristics. This review further emphasizes that the development of humanized animal models can enhance our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying HIV/MTB co-infection.