Assessing vaccine-mediated protection in an ultra-low dose Mycobacterium tuberculosis murine model.

ABSTRACT: Despite widespread immunization with Bacille-Calmette-Guerin (BCG), the only currently licensed tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, TB remains a leading cause of mortality globally. There are many TB vaccine candidates in the developmental pipeline, but the lack of a robust animal model to assess vaccine efficacy has hindered our ability to prioritize candidates for human clinical trials. Here we use a murine ultra-low dose (ULD) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) challenge model to assess protection conferred by BCG vaccination. We show that BCGconfers a reduction in lung bacterial burdens that is more durable than that observed afterconventional dose challenge, curbs Mtb dissemination to the contralateral lung, and, in a smallpercentage of mice, prevents detectable infection. These findings

SUBMITTER: Plumlee CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10055404 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature