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Application of Long-term cultured Interferon-γ Enzyme-linked Immunospot Assay for Assessing Effector and Memory T Cell Responses in Cattle
Published on: July 11, 2015
Immunological relatedness of the protective mechanisms against tuberculosis and cancer
1Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Laboratory, University of Louvain Medical School, Brussels, Belgium.
Background:
Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), an attenuated strain of tuberculous bacillus, is the source of vaccines providing unclear and variable protection against tuberculosis (TB) and cancer. Thermostable macromolecular antigens (TMAs) are major mycobacterial complexes immunodominant in disease. A60 (TMA complex of BCG) protects mice against TB development, via T lymphocyte (TL)-mediated macrophage (Mphi) activation, halting intracellular mycobacterial replication. In most A60-primed mice, cytolytic TLs and Mphi infiltrate cancer tissue, resulting in 80-100% rejection. Adoptive TL transfer is indispensable for Mphi-dependent tumour cell inactivation via oxygen and nitrogen radicals. Neoplasm development induces immune anergy with depletion ofA60-specific TL and activated Mphi. A60 protects mice against TB and cancer by inducing the synthesis of three lymphokines: interleukin 2 (IL-2), interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). Tumour cells prevent A60-dependent synthesis of these lymphokines in vivo and in vitro.
Conclusion:
These data provide some clues to immune surveillance and tumour escape mechanisms, as well as to the antituberculous and antineoplastic BCG action.
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