Determinants of Vaccine-Induced Resistance in Animal Models of Pulmonary Tuberculosis
Abstract
Scand J Infect Dis 33: 175â 178, 2001 SPECIAL ARTICLE Proceedings of a Nobel Symposium on Tuberculosis Determinants of Vaccine-Induced Resistance in Animal Models of Pulmonary Tuberculosis DAVID N. McMURRAY From the Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology, Texas A&M UniÃersity System Health Science Center, College Station, Texas, USA A more effective vaccine will be essential if the global tuberculosis (TB) pandemic is ever to be controlled. A large number of new tuberculosis vaccines have been developed, representing the whole range of modern strategies for vaccine formulation and delivery. There is currently no alternative to testing these new vaccines in experimental animals challenged with virulent Mycobacteriurn tuberculosis in order to assess their protective ef cacy. Although such testing is being carried out in several animal species (mice, guinea pigs, rabbits), all rational models include pulmonary challenge with a low dose of virulent mycobacteria. The quantitative measures for TB vaccines include increased survival, amelioration of clinical signs and symptoms (e.g. prevention of weight loss), decreased lesion size, reduction in bacillary loads in the lungs, and prevention of extrapulmonary dissemination and hematogenous reseeding of the lung. Although the ultimate objective of vaccination in humans is to prevent transmission to susceptible