title: Monosodium Urate Crystals Promote Innate Anti-Mycobacterial Immunity and Improve BCG Efficacy as a Vaccine against Tuberculosis.
abstract: A safer and more effective anti-Tuberculosis vaccine is still an urgent need. We probed the effects of monosodium urate crystals (MSU) on innate immunity to improve the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination. Results showed that in vitro MSU cause an enduring macrophage stimulation of the anti-mycobacterial response, measured as intracellular killing, ROS production and phagolysosome maturation. The contribution of MSU to anti-mycobacterial activity was also shown in vivo. Mice vaccinated in the presence of MSU showed a lower number of BCG in lymph nodes draining the vaccine inoculation site, in comparison to mice vaccinated without MSU. Lastly, we showed that MSU improved the efficacy of BCG vaccination in mice infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), measured in terms of lung and spleen MTB burden. These results demonstrate that the use of MSU as adjuvant may represent a novel strategy to enhance the efficacy of BCG vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Taus
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marilina B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Santucci
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Greco
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Catholic University of Sacred Hearth, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morandi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Catholic University of Sacred Hearth, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Palucci
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immuno-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mariotti
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Noemi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Poerio
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immuno-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nisini
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Catholic University of Sacred Hearth, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Delogu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fraziano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001500:BCG Vaccine / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D005260:Female; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000187:drug effects*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D001500:BCG Vaccine; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D014527:Uric Acid