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DNA vaccines against tuberculosis
J B Ulmer1, D L Montgomery, A Tang
1Department of Virus and Cell Biology, Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, PA 19486, USA.
Novartis Foundation Symposium
|February 9, 1999
Abstract:
DNA plasmids encoding Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen 85 (Ag85) were tested as vaccines in animal models. Ag85 DNA induced relevant immune responses (i.e. T helper (Th) cells, Th1 cytokines and cytotoxic T lymphocytes) and was protective in mouse and guinea pig models of mycobacterial disease. Therefore, DNA vaccination holds promise as an effective means of preventing tuberculosis in humans. Furthermore, this technique is amenable to identifying the protective antigens of M. tuberculosis.