Dataset Information

Loss of Lipid Virulence Factors Reduces the Efficacy of the BCG Vaccine.

ABSTRACT: Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), an attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis, is the only vaccine available for tuberculosis (TB) control. BCG comprises a number of substrains that exhibit genetic and biochemical differences. Whether and how these differences affect BCG efficacy remain unknown. Compared to other BCG strains, BCG-Japan, -Moreau, and -Glaxo are defective in the production of phthiocerol dimycocerosates (PDIMs) and phenolic glycolipids (PGLs), two lipid virulence factors. To determine if the loss of PDIMs/PGLs affects BCG efficacy, we constructed a PDIM/PGL-deficient strain of BCG-Pasteur by deleting fadD28, and compared virulence, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy in animal models. SCID mouse infection experiments showed that ∆fadD28 was more attenuated than wild type (WT). The ∆fadD28 and WT strains induced equivalent levels of antigen specific IFN-γ by CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells; however, ∆fadD28 was less effective against Mycobacterium tuberculosis challenge in both BALB/c mice and guinea pigs. These results indicate that the loss of PIDMs/PGLs reduces the virulence and protective efficacy of BCG. Since the loss of PDIMs/PGLs occurs naturally in a subset of BCG strains, it also suggests that these strains may have been over-attenuated, which compromises their effectiveness. Our finding has important implications for current BCG programs and future vaccine development.

SUBMITTER: Tran V

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4928182 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Loss of Lipid Virulence Factors Reduces the Efficacy of the BCG Vaccine.

Tran Vanessa V Ahn Sang Kyun SK Ng Mark M Li Ming M Liu Jun J Liu Jun J

Scientific reports 20160630

Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), an attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis, is the only vaccine available for tuberculosis (TB) control. BCG comprises a number of substrains that exhibit genetic and biochemical differences. Whether and how these differences affect BCG efficacy remain unknown. Compared to other BCG strains, BCG-Japan, -Moreau, and -Glaxo are defective in the production of phthiocerol dimycocerosates (PDIMs) and phenolic glycolipids (PGLs), two lipid virulence factors. To determin ...[more]

PMID: 27357109

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Project description:We report here on the characterisation in mice of a noninvasive bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) skin challenge model for assessing tuberculosis (TB) vaccine efficacy. Controlled human infection models (CHIMs) are valuable tools for assessing the relevant biological activity of vaccine candidates, with the potential to accelerate TB vaccine development into the clinic. TB infection poses significant constraints on the design of a CHIM using the causative agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). A safer alternative is a challenge model using the attenuated vaccine agent Mycobacterium bovis BCG as a surrogate for Mtb, and intradermal (skin) challenge as an alternative to pulmonary infection. We have developed a unique noninvasive imaging system based on fluorescent reporters (FluorBCG) to quantitatively measure bacterial load over time, thereby determining a relevant biological vaccine effect. We assessed the utility of this model to measure the effectiveness of 2 TB vaccines: the currently licenced BCG and a novel subunit vaccine candidate. To assess the efficacy of the skin challenge model, a nonlinear mixed-effects models was built describing the decline of fluorescence over time. The model-based analysis identified that BCG vaccination reduced the fluorescence readout of both fluorophores compared to unvaccinated mice (p < 0.001). However, vaccination with the novel subunit candidate did not alter the fluorescence decline compared to unvaccinated mice (p > 0.05). BCG-vaccinated mice that showed the reduced fluorescent readout also had a reduced bacterial burden in the lungs when challenged with Mtb. This supports the fluorescence activity in the skin as a reflection of vaccine induced functional pulmonary immune responses. This novel noninvasive approach allows for repeated measurements from the challenge site, providing a dynamic readout of vaccine induced responses over time. This BCG skin challenge model represents an important contribution to the ongoing development of controlled challenge models for TB.

Dataset Information

Loss of Lipid Virulence Factors Reduces the Efficacy of the BCG Vaccine.

Publications

Loss of Lipid Virulence Factors Reduces the Efficacy of the BCG Vaccine.

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