The tuberculosis vaccine candidate Bacillus Calmette-Guerin ΔureC::hly coexpressing human interleukin-7 or -18 enhances antigen-specific T cell responses in mice.

ABSTRACT: Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), the only approved tuberculosis vaccine, provides only limited protection. Previously, we generated a recombinant derivative (BCG ΔureC::hly), which secretes the pore-forming toxin listeriolysin O (LLO) of Listeria monocytogenes. This vaccine shows superior protection against tuberculosis in preclinical models and is safe in humans. Here we describe two new vaccine strains which express human interleukin-7 (hIL)-7 or hIL-18 in the genetic background of BCG ΔureC::hly to modulate specific T cell immunity. Both strains exhibited an uncompromised in vitro growth pattern, while inducing a proinflammatory cytokine profile in human dendritic cells (DCs). Human DCs harbouring either strain efficiently promoted secretion of IL-2 by autologous T cells in a coculture s

SUBMITTER: Rao M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3827306 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature