Attempted immunotherapy for Mycobacterium tuberculosis with viral and protein vaccines based on Ag85B-ESAT6 in a mouse model

The increasing threat of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) and co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has worsened the international public health crisis and challenged conventional chemotherapy. Therapeutic vaccines, which possess the capacity to stimulate the immune system and affect the disease progression, deserve reconsideration to aid chemotherapy. Vaccines based on Ag85B-ESAT6 fusion protein were tested as potential immunotherapeutic vaccines against ongoing intravenous infection in a mouse model. Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated by enumeration of bacilli in infected tissues and by histological examination of the lungs. Ag85B-ESAT6 with the adjuvant dimethyl dioctadecylammonium bromide (DDA) — monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) did not reduce bacterial load, however induced a sharp weight loss and worsened pathology. Recombinant virus-based vaccines failed to protect mice against tuberculosis either. More efforts should be taken to search for protective candidates and elucidate the mechanism for immunotherapy