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Are cytokines our key to immunity against mycobacterial diseases?
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Weir, Rosemary E. |
| Copyright Year | 2000 |
| Abstract | A current dynamic area of mycobacterial research is the identification of correlates of protective immunity to mycobacteria. Such a correlate (either in vivo or in vitro) would greatly enhance our understanding of the pathogenesis of both leprosy and tuberculosis; would assist in the identification and evaluation of promising vaccine candidates ; and may provide a more accurate marker of exposure than do the current skin tests . In this context, there are an increasing number of studies being conducted, such as that recently reported by Lima et al. , I that are measuring in vitro cytokine responses-from blood cells stimulated with mycobacterial proteins-as the 'read out' of the immune response in an individual . Findings to date from these studies indicate that cytokine responses-most prominently the interferon-gamma (IFN'Y) response-may indeed provide useful markers of immune response that could be employed as correlates of protective immunity, although further evaluation is required. IFN'Y production by T-cells is a key component of the protective response against mycobacteria, as it activates infected macrophages to kill intracellular M. leprae or M. tuberculosis. It has been recognized that current basic laboratory research on leprosy can benefit from the intense efforts underway to define the protective immune response against tuber culosis, and-given our experience with BCG-it may be that a new more effective tuberculosis vaccine could also be effective against leprosy. BCG vaccines have shown widely varying protective efficacy against pulmonary tuberculosis depending on the area of the world in which they have been used? In the course of TB protection studies, it emerged that BCG is also highly protective against leprosy3 although this may also vary according to location.4 The development of the human immune response to BCG vaccination is being studied by several groups . Ravn et al. 5 found that in 20 healthy Danish donors vaccinated with BCG (Copenhagen strain), in vitro peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferative responses to tuberculin PPD and fractions/secreted proteins of M. tuberculosis increased more rapidly during the year following vaccination in those subjects who had responded to M. tuberculosis PPD by in vitro assay prior to BCG vaccination. They interpreted this observation as evidence that prior exposure to mycobacteria in these subjects may have played a role in priming the immune system. Interestingly, some of these 'primed' donors had 'negative' tuberculin skin test results . The IFN'Y response to secreted proteins was increased 2 months after vaccination in all donors, as was the cytotoxic response to PPD-pulsed macrophages, and tuberculin skin test sensitivity increased in the majority of |
| Starting Page | 803 |
| Ending Page | 810 |
| Page Count | 8 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://leprev.ilsl.br/pdfs/2000/v71n3/pdf/v71n3a06.pdf |
| PubMed reference number | 11105485v1 |
| Volume Number | 71 |
| Issue Number | 3 |
| Journal | Leprosy review |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | BCG Vaccine Cell secretion Dermatologic disorders Genus Mycobacterium Hypersensitivity skin testing Immune system In Vitro [Publication Type] Influenza virus vaccine Interferon Type II Mycobacterium Infections Mycobacterium leprae Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex genotype:Prid:Pt:Isolate:Nar Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (cell) Priming Exercise Purified Protein Derivative of Tuberculin Tuberculin Test Tuberculosis Vaccines Tuberculosis, Pulmonary cytokine leprosy vaccine |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
