Abstract
Over the last few years, some of our experiments in which mycobacterial antigens were presented to the immune system as if they were viral antigens have had a significant impact on our understanding of protective immunity against tuberculosis. They have also markedly enhanced the prospects for new vaccines. We now know that individual mycobacterial protein antigens can confer protection equal to that from live BCG vaccine in mice. A critical determinant of the outcome of immunization appears to be the degree to which antigen-specific cytotoxic T cells are generated by the immune response. Our most recent studies indicate that DNA vaccination is an effective way to establish long-lasting cytotoxic T cell memory and protection against tuberculosis.
Highlights
Tuberculosis kills 3 million people every year [1,2]
Over the last few years, some of our experiments in which mycobacterial antigens were presented to the immune system as if they were viral antigens have had a significant impact on our understanding of protective immunity against tuberculosis
We know that individual mycobacterial protein antigens can confer protection equal to that from live bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine in mice
Summary
The disease is due to respiratory infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the World Health Organization places its hope to bring tuberculosis under control on a combination of vaccination with bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) to boost immunity and antibacterial drug treatment to directly kill the bacteria [1]. Despite these efforts, there are still 10 million new cases worldwide every year, mainly in developing countries, and this changes little from year to year [2]. Our answer was to take the cloned genes encoding some of the most immunologically prominent mycobacterial protein antigens and express them directly in antigen-presenting cells in mice [5,6]; to do this, we used DNA vaccination or a retroviral vector to transfect antigen-presenting cells
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