Abstract
Tuberculosis caused by infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Mycobacterium bovis remains one of the most important infectious diseases of man and animals. The current vaccine M. bovis Calmette-Guérin (BCG) demonstrates variable efficacy and so a more robust strategy to either replace, or more likely supplement it, is required. Prime-boost strategies where immunity induced by BCG is boosted by a second heterologous vaccine represent a promising avenue of research. We have evaluated the ability of a protein subunit vaccine using the antigen Rv3019c to either prime or boost immunity induced by BCG in a murine M. bovis challenge model. Despite the induction of anamnestic T cell responses, we report that antigen-independent immune stimulation with adjuvant in conjunction with BCG could enhance the level of protection induced by BCG alone. Importantly this improved protection correlated with pre-infection frequencies of ex vivo IFN-γ producing cells in the spleen, providing a possible surrogate correlate of protection for future vaccination studies. Crown
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 5526-5532 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Vaccine |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 48-49 |
Early online date | 01 Aug 2005 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 01 Dec 2005 |
Keywords
- Prime-boost
- Tuberculosis
- Vaccine