Selective delipidation of Mycobacterium bovis BCG enables direct pulmonary vaccination and enhances protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), is the leading killer due to an infectious organism. Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the only vaccine approved against TB, however, its efficacy against pulmonary TB is poor. While BCG is currently inoculated intradermally, the natural route of M.tb infection is through the lung. Excessive lung pathology caused by pulmonary inoculation of BCG has prevented the use of this immunization route. Here, we show that selective chemical treatment of BCG with petroleum ether removes inflammatory lipids from the bacterial surface while keeping BCG viable. Pulmonary vaccination using this modified BCG attenuated inflammatory responses, prevented immunopathology of the lung, and significantly increased p

SUBMITTER: Moliva JI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6462255 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature