Biomarker study provides insight into TB disease risk in young children

18 May 2016
18 May 2016

A team of scientists from the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI) in the IDM, in collaboration with multiple international research groups, have made a discovery that enhances understanding of how the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine stimulates our immune systems to protect against tuberculosis (TB). Their main finding was that the immune systems of different groups of infants respond differently to the BCG vaccine, implying that different mechanisms of protection against TB may exist within a population. 

Professor Willem Hanekom, PI, previously of the IDM and now at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said: "The study results have important implications for new vaccine development, as we would have to take into account that the vaccine may work through distinct mechanisms in different persons from the same population." The team used advanced techniques to measure gene expression, cell types and their function in the blood of BCG vaccinated healthy infants to identify differences that could predict the development of TB disease in those not protected by the vaccine. They showed that some of the infants who fell ill with TB, later on had a stronger T cell response to the vaccine in the presence of elevated levels of anti-inflammatory monocytes, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of TB.

The research team were funded by the NIH, EDCTP, European Commission, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Aeras.

Full article:
'Human newborn bacille Calmette–Guérin vaccination and risk of tuberculosis disease: a case-control study'. Helen A. Fletcher et al. BMC Medicine (2016) 14:76. doi: 10.1186/s12916-016-0617-3.