Although one-third of the world's population is infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, only
approximately 10% will develop the overt clinical disease due to a yet undefined risk factor.
We hypothesize that hypocholesterolemia might constitute such a factor, because:(a)
cholesterol is an important molecule for the good functioning of an immune system, and is
necessary for macrophages to uptake and engulf mycobacteria,(b) tuberculous patients
often have hypocholesterolemia, in comparison with the general population and household …