Mycobacterium bovisBacille Calmette-Guérin as a Vaccine Vector for Global Infectious Disease Control

Abstract

Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the only available vaccine for tuberculosis (TB). Although this vaccine is effective in controlling infantile TB, BCG-induced protective effects against pulmonary diseases in adults have not been clearly demonstrated. Recombinant BCG (rBCG) technology has been extensively applied to obtain more potent immunogenicity of this vaccine, and several candidate TB vaccines have currently reached human clinical trials. On the other hand, recent progress in the improvement of the BCG vector, such as the codon optimization strategy and combination with viral vector boost, allows us to utilize this bacterium in HIV vaccine development. In this paper, we review recent progress in rBCG-based vaccine studies that may have implications in the development of novel vaccines for controlling global infectious diseases in the near future.

The <italic>Mycobacterium bovis</italic> BCG prime-Rv0577 DNA boost vaccination induces a durable Th1 immune response in mice

“…In fact, as a vaccine, BCG is attractive in terms of its extensive safety, clinical record, heat stability, and low production cost. Immunologically, BCG can induce long-lasting type 1 helper T cell (Th1) immunity and trigger CD8+ T-cell responses [6]. Therefore, it is a promising strategy to develop an effective booster vaccine following primary immunization of BCG to enhance the immunity induced by initial vaccination.…”

Applications of bacillus Calmette–Guerin and recombinant bacillus Calmette–Guerin in vaccine development and tumor immunotherapy

“…As aforementioned, BCG is effective in preventing infant TB, but its effectiveness is variable against pulmonary disease in adults [10;35]. Therefore, there continues to be an interest in developing new TB vaccines that are effective in adults.…”

“…oral, intrarectal, or intranasal) [3–6]. BCG is also an attractive bacterial vector in developing vaccine candidates using rBCG technology [7–10], which is based on the use of BCG bacteria as a vector to express foreign genes. In particular, rBCG has been used to develop vaccine candidates against a wide variety of pathogens and diseases, including bacterial, viral, parasite infections, and tumors [11–15].…”

Early Phase Clinical Trials with Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 and Malaria Vectored Vaccines in The Gambia: Frontline Challenges in Study Design and Implementation

“…26,27 In view of the aforementioned, we suggest that vaccine developers targeting infants in infectious disease-endemic countries should address the issues of immature infant immune system in early stages of the vaccine development. For example, the use of an improved strategy on BCG vector such as codon optimization and combination with viral vector boost 24,28 have proved more useful in HIV vaccine development. Similarly, induction of broadly neutralizing antibodies remains critical toward successful HIV-1 vaccine development.…”