title: Effects of antenatal and postnatal environments on CD4 T-cell responses to Mycobacterium bovis BCG in healthy infants in the Gambia.
abstract: The Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccine has a poor record of efficacy in low-income tropical settings. Against this background, we evaluated the immune response of infants to mycobacterial antigens over the 2 years following BCG vaccination at birth by measuring the gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and CD154 responses of CD4 T cells. Similar numbers of cells expressed IFN-gamma in infants, 4- to 5-year-old children, and adults, while CD154 was not expressed at comparable levels until the second year of infancy. The IL-2 response remained relatively low in infants, children, and adults but correlated negatively with mother's body mass index and was highest among infants born to Mandinka mothers. Similarly, infants born in the wet season had a stronger CD154 response than those born in the dry season throughout the 2 years of the study. We conclude that the prenatal and perinatal environments have a lasting effect on the response of infants to the BCG vaccine.
authors.affiliation: MRC Laboratories Gambia, P.O. Box 273, Banjul, The Gambia. djcm1@liverpool.ac.uk
authors.forename: David J C
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Miles
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van der Sande
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Crozier
authors.forename: Olubukola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ojuola
authors.forename: Melba S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Palmero
authors.forename: Mariama
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanneh
authors.forename: Ebrima S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Touray
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rowland-Jones
authors.forename: Hilton
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Whittle
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marchant
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001500:BCG Vaccine / Q000276:immunology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D023201:CD40 Ligand / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005714:Gambia; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000276:immunology*; D012621:Seasons; D012923:Social Class; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D001500:BCG Vaccine; D007376:Interleukin-2; D023201:CD40 Ligand; D007371:Interferon-gamma