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Painter H, Willcocks S, Zelmer A, Reljic R, Tanner R, Fletcher H. Demonstrating the utility of the ex vivo murine mycobacterial growth inhibition assay (MGIA) for high-throughput screening of tuberculosis vaccine candidates against multiple Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2024; 146:102494. [PMID: 38367368 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2024.102494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
Human tuberculosis (TB) is caused by various members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) complex. Differences in host response to infection have been reported, illustrative of a need to evaluate efficacy of novel vaccine candidates against multiple strains in preclinical studies. We previously showed that the murine lung and spleen direct mycobacterial growth inhibition assay (MGIA) can be used to assess control of ex vivo mycobacterial growth by host cells. The number of mice required for the assay is significantly lower than in vivo studies, facilitating testing of multiple strains and/or the incorporation of other cellular analyses. Here, we provide proof-of-concept that the murine MGIA can be applied to evaluate vaccine-induced protection against multiple Mtb clinical isolates. Using an ancient and modern strain of the Mtb complex, we demonstrate that ex vivo bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-mediated mycobacterial growth inhibition recapitulates protection observed in the lung and spleen following in vivo infection of mice. Further, we provide the first report of cellular and transcriptional correlates of BCG-induced growth inhibition in the lung MGIA. The ex vivo MGIA represents a promising platform to gain early insight into vaccine performance against a collection of Mtb strains and improve preclinical evaluation of TB vaccine candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Painter
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
| | - Sam Willcocks
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Andrea Zelmer
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Rajko Reljic
- Institute of Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, Cranmer Terrrace, London, SW17 0RE, UK
| | - Rachel Tanner
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Helen Fletcher
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
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2
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Zhu C, Dong J, Duan Y, Jia H, Zhang L, Xing A, Du B, Sun Q, Huang Y, Zhang Z, Pan L, Li Z. Comparative analysis of genomic characteristics and immune response between Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains cultured continuously for 25 years and H37Rv. Pathog Dis 2024; 82:ftae014. [PMID: 38845379 PMCID: PMC11187990 DOI: 10.1093/femspd/ftae014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) continues to pose a significant global health challenge, emphasizing the critical need for effective preventive measures. Although many studies have tried to develop new attenuated vaccines, there is no effective TB vaccine. In this study, we report a novel attenuated Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) strain, CHVAC-25, cultured continuously for 25 years in the laboratory. CHVAC-25 exhibited significantly reduced virulence compared to both the virulent H37Rv strain in C57BL/6J and severe combined immunodeficiency disease mice. The comparative genomic analysis identified 93 potential absent genomic segments and 65 single nucleotide polymorphic sites across 47 coding genes. Notably, the deletion mutation of ppsC (Rv2933) involved in phthiocerol dimycocerosate synthesis likely contributes to CHVAC-25 virulence attenuation. Furthermore, the comparative analysis of immune responses between H37Rv- and CHVAC-25-infected macrophages showed that CHVAC-25 triggered a robust upregulation of 173 genes, particularly cytokines crucial for combating M. tb infection. Additionally, the survival of CHVAC-25 was significantly reduced compared to H37Rv in macrophages. These findings reiterate the possibility of obtaining attenuated M. tb strains through prolonged laboratory cultivation, echoing the initial conception of H37Ra nearly a century ago. Additionally, the similarity of CHVAC-25 to genotypes associated with attenuated M. tb vaccine positions it as a promising candidate for TB vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuanzhi Zhu
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China
| | - Jing Dong
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China
| | - Yuheng Duan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China
| | - Hongyan Jia
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China
| | - Lanyue Zhang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China
| | - Aiying Xing
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China
| | - Boping Du
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China
| | - Qi Sun
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China
| | - Yinxia Huang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China
| | - Zongde Zhang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China
| | - Liping Pan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China
| | - Zihui Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China
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Kim H, Choi HG, Shin SJ. Bridging the gaps to overcome major hurdles in the development of next-generation tuberculosis vaccines. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1193058. [PMID: 37638056 PMCID: PMC10451085 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1193058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Although tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading causes of death from an infectious disease worldwide, the development of vaccines more effective than bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), the only licensed TB vaccine, has progressed slowly even in the context of the tremendous global impact of TB. Most vaccine candidates have been developed to strongly induce interferon-γ (IFN-γ)-producing T-helper type 1 (Th1) cell responses; however, accumulating evidence has suggested that other immune factors are required for optimal protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. In this review, we briefly describe the five hurdles that must be overcome to develop more effective TB vaccines, including those with various purposes and tested in recent promising clinical trials. In addition, we discuss the current knowledge gaps between preclinical experiments and clinical studies regarding peripheral versus tissue-specific immune responses, different underlying conditions of individuals, and newly emerging immune correlates of protection. Moreover, we propose how recently discovered TB risk or susceptibility factors can be better utilized as novel biomarkers for the evaluation of vaccine-induced protection to suggest more practical ways to develop advanced TB vaccines. Vaccines are the most effective tools for reducing mortality and morbidity from infectious diseases, and more advanced technologies and a greater understanding of host-pathogen interactions will provide feasibility and rationale for novel vaccine design and development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongmin Kim
- Department of Microbiology, Institute for Immunology and Immunological Diseases, Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Han-Gyu Choi
- Department of Microbiology and Medical Science, College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung Jae Shin
- Department of Microbiology, Institute for Immunology and Immunological Diseases, Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Qu W, Guo Y, Xu Y, Zhang J, Wang Z, Ding C, Pan Y. Advance in strategies to build efficient vaccines against tuberculosis. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:955204. [PMID: 36504851 PMCID: PMC9731747 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.955204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis is a chronic consumptive infectious disease, which can cause great damage to human and animal health all over the world. The emergence of multi-drug resistant strains, the unstable protective effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine on adults, and the mixed infection with HIV all warn people to exploit new approaches for conquering tuberculosis. At present, there has been significant progress in developing tuberculosis vaccines, such as improved BCG vaccine, subunit vaccine, DNA vaccine, live attenuated vaccine and inactivated vaccine. Among these candidate vaccines, there are some promising vaccines to improve or replace BCG vaccine effect. Meanwhile, the application of adjuvants, prime-boost strategy, immunoinformatic tools and targeting components have been studied concentratedly, and verified as valid means of raising the efficiency of tuberculosis vaccines as well. In this paper, the latest advance in tuberculosis vaccines in recent years is reviewed to provide reliable information for future tuberculosis prevention and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Qu
- National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues, MOA Key Laboratory for Detection of Veterinary Drug Residues, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China,MOA Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Quality and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yinhui Guo
- National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues, MOA Key Laboratory for Detection of Veterinary Drug Residues, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yan Xu
- National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues, MOA Key Laboratory for Detection of Veterinary Drug Residues, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues, MOA Key Laboratory for Detection of Veterinary Drug Residues, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China,MOA Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Quality and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zongchao Wang
- National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues, MOA Key Laboratory for Detection of Veterinary Drug Residues, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Chaoyue Ding
- National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues, MOA Key Laboratory for Detection of Veterinary Drug Residues, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yuanhu Pan
- National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues, MOA Key Laboratory for Detection of Veterinary Drug Residues, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China,MOA Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Quality and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China,*Correspondence: Yuanhu Pan
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SARS-CoV-2 Genetic Variability and Non-Specific Immunity Associated with the Use of Different BCG Strains-A Molecular and Clinical Approach. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:vaccines9060639. [PMID: 34200951 PMCID: PMC8230610 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9060639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The effect of BCG vaccination against tuberculosis on the reduction in COVID-19 infection is related to the effect of the BCG vaccine on the immunomodulation of non-specific immunity. In the early stages of the pandemic, countries with universal BCG vaccination programs registered a low number of new cases of COVID-19, with the situation now reversed, as exemplified by India. The high genetic variability of SARS-CoV-2, a known characteristic of RNA viruses, causing the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 variants may have led to the virus adapting to overcome the initial immune protection. The strains from the United Kingdom (B1.1.7), Brazil (B1.1.28 and B1.1.33), South Africa (B.1.351), and India (B.1.617) are characterized by a greater ability to spread in the environment, in comparison with the original infectious agent of SARS-CoV-2. It should be remembered that the large variation in the genetic makeup of SARS-CoV-2 may result in future changes in its pathogenicity, immunogenicity and antigenicity, and therefore it is necessary to carefully study the mutations occurring within the virus to determine whether the current vaccines will remain effective. However, most studies show that monoclonal antibodies produced after vaccination against COVID-19 are effective against the newly developed variants.
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Martinot AJ, Blass E, Yu J, Aid M, Mahrokhian SH, Cohen SB, Plumlee CR, Larocca RA, Siddiqi N, Wakabayashi S, Gardner M, Audette R, Devorak A, Urdahl KB, Rubin EJ, Barouch DH. Protective efficacy of an attenuated Mtb ΔLprG vaccine in mice. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1009096. [PMID: 33315936 PMCID: PMC7769599 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2020] [Revised: 12/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG), an attenuated whole cell vaccine based on Mycobacterium bovis, is the only licensed vaccine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), but its efficacy is suboptimal and it fails to protect against pulmonary tuberculosis. We previously reported that Mtb lacking the virulence genes lprG and rv1410c (ΔLprG) was highly attenuated in immune deficient mice. In this study, we show that attenuated ΔLprG Mtb protects C57BL/6J, Balb/cJ, and C3HeB/FeJ mice against Mtb challenge and is as attenuated as BCG in SCID mice. In C3HeB/FeJ mice, ΔLprG vaccination resulted in innate peripheral cytokine production and induced high polyclonal PPD-specific cytokine-secreting CD4+ T lymphocytes in peripheral blood. The ΔLprG vaccine afforded protective efficacy in the lungs of C3H/FeJ mice following both H37Rv and Erdman aerosolized Mtb challenges. Vaccine efficacy correlated with antigen-specific PD-1-negative CD4+ T lymphocytes as well as with serum IL-17 levels after vaccination. We hypothesize that induction of Th17 cells in lung is critical for vaccine protection, and we show a serum cytokine biomarker for IL-17 shortly after vaccination may predict protective efficacy. Many successful vaccines are based on attenuated human pathogens. The only licensed tuberculosis vaccine, BCG, is based on an attenuated version of live whole cell Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB) in cattle. Advantages to using attenuated pathogens as vaccines include a broad antigen composition including proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and other molecules that can induce durable immune responses sometimes lasting decades. Here we test an attenuated Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of human TB, that lacks a key virulence factor as an alternative whole cell vaccine in mice. Attenuated Mtb lacking a key virulence protein, LprG, is immunogenic and protects mice against Mtb challenge. The LprG whole cell vaccine is protective in mice that develop lung pathology more similar to what is described in human TB and the LprG vaccine induces a key cytokine, IL-17, thought to be important for vaccine protection, in the peripheral blood early after vaccination. Together these data support the continued development of attenuated TB as a potential vaccine candidate. Furthermore our data suggests that serum IL-17 should be explored as a potential biomarker for vaccine efficacy in preclinical animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda J. Martinot
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Global Health, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Eryn Blass
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Jingyou Yu
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Malika Aid
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Shant H. Mahrokhian
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Sara B. Cohen
- Department of Immunology, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Courtney R. Plumlee
- Department of Immunology, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Rafael A. Larocca
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Noman Siddiqi
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Shoko Wakabayashi
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Michelle Gardner
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Rebecca Audette
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Anne Devorak
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Global Health, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Kevin B. Urdahl
- Department of Immunology, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Departments of Pediatrics and Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Eric J. Rubin
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Dan H. Barouch
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Preclinical Progress of Subunit and Live Attenuated Mycobacterium tuberculosis Vaccines: A Review following the First in Human Efficacy Trial. Pharmaceutics 2020; 12:pharmaceutics12090848. [PMID: 32899930 PMCID: PMC7559421 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12090848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2020] [Revised: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) is the global leading cause of death from an infectious agent with approximately 10 million new cases of TB and 1.45 million deaths in 2018. Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) remains the only approved vaccine for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb, causative agent of TB), however clinical studies have shown BCG has variable effectiveness ranging from 0–80% in adults. With 1.7 billion people latently infected, it is becoming clear that vaccine regimens aimed at both post-exposure and pre-exposure to M. tb will be crucial to end the TB epidemic. The two main strategies to improve or replace BCG are subunit and live attenuated vaccines. However, following the failure of the MVA85A phase IIb trial in 2013, more varied and innovative approaches are being developed. These include recombinant BCG strains, genetically attenuated M. tb and naturally attenuated mycobacteria strains, novel methods of immunogenic antigen discovery including for hypervirulent M. tb strains, improved antigen recognition and delivery strategies, and broader selection of viral vectors. This article reviews preclinical vaccine work in the last 5 years with focus on those tested against M. tb challenge in relevant animal models.
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Pérez I, Uranga S, Sayes F, Frigui W, Samper S, Arbués A, Aguiló N, Brosch R, Martín C, Gonzalo-Asensio J. Live attenuated TB vaccines representing the three modern Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineages reveal that the Euro-American genetic background confers optimal vaccine potential. EBioMedicine 2020; 55:102761. [PMID: 32361249 PMCID: PMC7195525 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.102761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2020] [Revised: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Human tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a plethora of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) strains belonging to seven phylogenetic branches. Lineages 2, 3 and 4 are considered “modern” branches of the MTBC responsible for the majority of worldwide TB. Since the current BCG vaccine confers variable protection against pulmonary TB, new candidates are investigated. MTBVAC is the unique live attenuated vaccine based on M. tuberculosis in human clinical trials. Methods MTBVAC was originally constructed by unmarked phoP and fadD26 deletions in a clinical isolate belonging to L4. Here we construct new vaccines based on isogenic gene deletions in clinical isolates of the L2 and L3 modern lineages. These three vaccine candidates were characterized at molecular level and also in animal experiments of protection and safety. Findings Safety studies in immunocompromised mice showed that MTBVAC-L2 was less attenuated than BCG Pasteur, while the original MTBVAC was found even more attenuated than BCG and MTBVAC-L3 showed an intermediate phenotype. The three MTBVAC candidates showed similar or superior protection compared to BCG in immunocompetent mice vaccinated with each MTBVAC candidate and challenged with three representative strains of the modern lineages. Interpretation MTBVAC vaccines, based on double phoP and fadD26 deletions, protect against TB independently of the phylogenetic linage used as template strain for their construction. Nevertheless, lineage L4 confers the best safety profile. Funding European Commission (TBVAC2020, H2020-PHC-643381), Spanish Ministry of Science (RTI2018-097625-B-I00), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI18/0336), Gobierno de Aragón/Fondo Social Europeo and the French National Research Council (ANR-10-LABX-62-IBEID, ANR-16-CE35-0009, ANR-16-CE15-0003).
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Pérez
- Grupo de Genética de Micobacterias, Departamento de Microbiología y Medicina Preventiva, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Zaragoza, IIS Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain; CIBER Enfermedades Respiratorias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Santiago Uranga
- Grupo de Genética de Micobacterias, Departamento de Microbiología y Medicina Preventiva, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Zaragoza, IIS Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain; CIBER Enfermedades Respiratorias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fadel Sayes
- Institut Pasteur, Unit for Integrated Mycobacterial Pathogenomics, CNRS UMR 3525, Paris, France
| | - Wafa Frigui
- Institut Pasteur, Unit for Integrated Mycobacterial Pathogenomics, CNRS UMR 3525, Paris, France
| | - Sofía Samper
- Grupo de Genética de Micobacterias, Departamento de Microbiología y Medicina Preventiva, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Zaragoza, IIS Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain; CIBER Enfermedades Respiratorias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Unidad de Investigación Translacional, Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Ainhoa Arbués
- Present adress: Medical Parasitology & Infection Biology Department, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Nacho Aguiló
- Grupo de Genética de Micobacterias, Departamento de Microbiología y Medicina Preventiva, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Zaragoza, IIS Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain; CIBER Enfermedades Respiratorias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roland Brosch
- Institut Pasteur, Unit for Integrated Mycobacterial Pathogenomics, CNRS UMR 3525, Paris, France
| | - Carlos Martín
- Grupo de Genética de Micobacterias, Departamento de Microbiología y Medicina Preventiva, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Zaragoza, IIS Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain; CIBER Enfermedades Respiratorias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Servicio de Microbiología Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Jesús Gonzalo-Asensio
- Grupo de Genética de Micobacterias, Departamento de Microbiología y Medicina Preventiva, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Zaragoza, IIS Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain; CIBER Enfermedades Respiratorias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de Sistemas Complejos (BIFI), Zaragoza, Spain.
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