Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, remains a leading cause of death worldwide. The control of tuberculosis is hindered by the inability of the current vaccine, Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), to adequately limit the spread of tuberculosis, and the emergence of M. tuberculosis strains resistant to most of the currently available antibiotics. The key to tuberculosis control is an improved understanding of the host immune response to M. tuberculosis; such information will aid the development of effective vaccines and immunotherapeutic agents. We invite authors to submit original research and review articles that seek to define the interaction between M. tuberculosis and the host immune system. We are interested in articles that explore aspects of antimycobacterial immunity in humans and also in animal models.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Development and testing of novel and effective antituberculosis vaccines
• Development of immunotherapeutic strategies to treat chronic M. tuberculosis infection
• Elucidating the role of host factors in the development of antimycobacterial immunity
• Identification of new antigenic targets of the human immune response to M. tuberculosis
• Identifying biomarkers/correlates of protective immunity in humans
• New cellular and animal models to test and understand immunity to M. tuberculosis
• The influence of HIV coinfection on M. tuberculosis-specific immunity
• Identifying mechanisms employed by M. tuberculosis to subvert the host immune response

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jir/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: