Superior protective effects of subcutaneous vaccination with BCG MU-Ag85A.

<p><b>A.</b> Naïve C57BL/6 mice (dotted black) or mice subcutaneously primed with empty-vector BCG pHA (gray) or BCG MU-Ag85A (black) were challenged with 10⁵ MU1615 via the footpad ten weeks post-vaccination. Area of footpad swelling was measured at various time points post-challenge. Mice were euthanized if vertical footpad swelling surpassed 4.5 mm and survival represents time to euthanasia. Asterisk indicates statistical analysis of BCG pHA versus BCG MU-Ag85A by the Mantel-Cox test (n = 10 for each group). <b>B.</b> Survival was assessed in MU1615-challenged mice which had been subcutaneously primed with BCG pHA (gray) or BCG MU-Ag85A (black) for eight weeks, followed by a two week boost with <i>Msmeg</i> MU-Ag85A. Asterisk indicates statistical analysis of BCG pHA versus BCG MU-Ag85A by the Mantel-Cox test (n = 10 for each group). *p<0.03, **p<0.002