Tuberculosis (TB) remains the leading cause of deaths from infectious disease worldwide, with South Africa having the highest number of cases worldwide. Although the BCG vaccine widely given to infants provides some protection against TB, no vaccine other than BCG has demonstrated lasting efficacy against the disease.1 reliable source
A modified BCG lacking peptidoglycan-associated enzymes
) Professor Kana, Head of the School of Pathology at Wits University and former Director of the Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research, contributed to a pioneering study aimed at enhancing the efficacy of the BCG vaccine in controlling the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
BCG Vaccine: Latest Information
Mice that were given the edited BCG vaccine had reduced growth of M. tuberculosis in their lungs compared with mice that received the original vaccine.
“We can now introduce a new potential vaccine in the fight against this deadly disease,” says Kana. “This work also shows that gene editing is a powerful way to develop vaccines. This is especially important for researchers working on vaccine development.”
BCG vaccine is given to children at birth and is effective in preventing TB disease.
However, BCG does not protect adolescents and adults and has not been effective in eliminating TB.
This has increased the urgency to develop new TB vaccines to replace or supplement BCG.
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“We have also seen that BCG can evade the immune system and this reduces its efficacy as a vaccine,” says Kana.
He said the importance of vaccines cannot be overstated.
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When humans get sick, their body's defense system looks for special markings on the outside of bacteria, viruses or other harmful germs, called PAMPs (pathogen-associated molecular patterns).
This helps the body to differentiate between invading cells and its own cells and then it starts fighting the infection.
Vaccines look like germs, so they can provide preliminary protection without making a person sick.
Kana laments the lack of funding to develop tools to eradicate TB – a disease that dates back more than 9,000 years.
“Until recently, our diagnostic methods were a century old. With some new vaccine candidates in the pipeline, we can finally begin to adequately address this devastating disease.”
Reference:
- A modified BCG lacking the peptidoglycan-associated enzymes – (https://elifesciences.org/articles/89157)
Source- Eurekalert
