The ESX-1 system is responsible for the secretion of the prototypic ESX proteins, namely the 6 kDa early secreted antigenic target (ESAT-6) and the 10 kDa culture filtrate protein (CFP-10). These two proteins, which form a 1:1 heterodimeric complex, are among the most important proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis involved in host-pathogen interaction. They induce a strong T cell mediated immune response, are apparently involved in membrane and/or host-cell lysis and represent key virulence factors. There are four other paralogous ESX systems in M. tuberculosis, some of which are essential for in vitro growth. ESX systems also exist in many other actinobacteria and Gram-positive bacteria, and have recently been suggested to be named type VII secretion systems. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.