Elsevier

Tuberculosis

Volume 82, Issue 6, October 2002, Pages 267-273
Tuberculosis

Regular Article
Dose of BCG does not influence the efficient generation of protective immunity in mice challenged with Mycobacterium tuberculosis

https://doi.org/10.1054/tube.2002.0340Get rights and content

Abstract

It is generally agreed that BCG vaccination is relatively ineffective in adults exposed to tuberculosis infection. The reasons for this may well be multiple, and may include the possibility that higher doses of BCG may induce a mixed TH1 and TH2 response, which may lessen the protective effect of the vaccine. To test this hypothesis, mice were vaccinated with a range of doses of BCG and then challenged by the intravenous or aerogenic routes with virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis. While the data support the hypothesis that a TH2 response is induced by higher doses of BCG, this was found to have no influence whatsoever on the capacity of the vaccinated mouse to express acquired specific resistance to the challenge infection.

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    Reducing the dose of BCG can promote a Th1 biased response [37], a manifestation of CMI commonly associated with enhanced control of TB [31]. Whilst this might be suggestive of lower doses of BCG being be more protective, when tested empirically, vaccination of mice with various doses of BCG ranging from 103 to 107 CFU did not influence efficient generation of protective immunity against M. tuberculosis challenge [38]. A mechanism proposed to explain the poor protective efficacy commonly associated with killed mycobacterial vaccines is that immuno-dominant protective antigens are only generated by live actively metabolising bacilli [17].

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Correspondence to: Veronica Gruppo, Mycobacteria Research laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO 80523, USA. Tel.: +1-970-491-6587; Fax: +1-970-491-5125; e-mail: [email protected]

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