title: Recombinant tuberculosis vaccine AEC/BC02 induces antigen-specific cellular responses in mice and protects guinea pigs in a model of latent infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To preliminarily evaluate the immunogenicity and efficacy of the recombinant tuberculosis vaccine AEC/BC02 in which Ag85b and fusion protein ESAT6-CFP10 were combined with bacillus Calmette-Guérin CpG and an aluminum salt-based adjuvant system.
  
  
  METHODS
  Groups of BALB/c mice were immunized intramuscularly three times at 10-day intervals with AEC/BC02 or the adjuvant alone and the vaccine-induced cell-mediated immune responses were evaluated. The efficacy of AEC/BC02 was evaluated in two guinea pig models, one a model of prevention and the other a model of latent infection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The AEC/BC02 vaccine induced strong cellular immune responses characterized by a high frequency of antigen-specific interferon-γ-secreting T cells in mice at different time points after the last vaccination. In the preventive model of guinea pig, AEC/BC02 did not protect against Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a pre-exposure vaccine. However, in a latent infection model of guinea pig, it effectively controlled the reactivation of M. tuberculosis and lowered the bacterial load in the lung and spleen.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate AEC/BC02 can protect against reactivation of latent infection and may function as a therapeutic vaccine.
authors.affiliation: Division of Tuberculosis Vaccines, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Number 2, Tiantan Xili, Beijing 100050, PR China.
authors.forename: Jin-biao
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Division of Tuberculosis Vaccines, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Number 2, Tiantan Xili, Beijing 100050, PR China.
authors.forename: Bao-wen
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Division of Tuberculosis Vaccines, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Number 2, Tiantan Xili, Beijing 100050, PR China.
authors.forename: Guo-zhi
authors.initials: GZ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, PR China.
authors.forename: Li-li
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Division of Tuberculosis Vaccines, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Number 2, Tiantan Xili, Beijing 100050, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiao-bin
authors.initials: XB
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Division of Tuberculosis Vaccines, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Number 2, Tiantan Xili, Beijing 100050, PR China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Division of Tuberculosis Vaccines, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Number 2, Tiantan Xili, Beijing 100050, PR China.
authors.forename: Wei-xin
authors.initials: WX
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Division of Tuberculosis Vaccines, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Number 2, Tiantan Xili, Beijing 100050, PR China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Division of Tuberculosis Vaccines, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Number 2, Tiantan Xili, Beijing 100050, PR China. Electronic address: xumiaobj@126.com.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D001500:BCG Vaccine / Q000276:immunology; D058491:Bacterial Load / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D055985:Latent Tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008168:Lung / Q000382:microbiology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000382:microbiology; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D032581:Tuberculosis Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D014611:Vaccination; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001500:BCG Vaccine; D032581:Tuberculosis Vaccines; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic; D007371:Interferon-gamma
keywords: CpG adjuvant; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; guinea pig; latent tuberculosis infection; recombinant vaccine