New pathway shows promise for developing advanced vaccines for TB
The team from Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) in US zeroed in on Marginal zone B (MZB) cells -- a natural response to tuberculosis infection that has been long overlooked.
These cells, they said, would be a welcome new target that might be strengthened through new vaccinations to better treat and prevent the illness.
Using high-dimensional flow cytometry, the scientists tracked the progression of infection in an animal model. In the paper, published in the journal Cell Reports, they demonstrated that B cells altered their immunological landscape towards MZB cells.
Detailed observation of this transition revealed that MZB cells responded to infection with increased activity and memory-like phenotypic expression. As a result, cytokine patterns were altered, boosting cell-mediated immunity.
"This discovery opens a new avenue in TB vaccine development, suggesting that targeting B cells for their regulatory functions could be a promising new strategy," said the team led by Martin Gengenbacher from CDI.
Because the only TB vaccine available, the 100-year-old Bacille Calmette-Guerin, or BCG, is now becoming highly unreliable, the team advocated improving BCG by designing it to encourage the formation and communication of B cells, an important component of the immune system.
The researchers' goal with this technique is to create a second-generation TB vaccine that will provide dependable and long-lasting protection against new infections while also helping treat current tuberculosis infections by complementing antibiotic therapy.
