Tuberculosis vaccine research in China

A diffusive tuberculosis model with early and late latent infections: New Lyapunov function approach to global stability

This paper formulates a diffusive tuberculosis (TB) model with early and late latent infections, vaccination and treatment that may more properly describe the slow and fast dynamics of TB transmission. We develop a new concise approach to determine the combination coefficients in the Lyapunov function candidate for the model and its time derivative in the case that both are the linear combinations of several Volterra-type functions, which highly simplifies the computations in global dynamical analysis for the nonlinear high-dimensional model. Based on the TB case data reported in China, the parameter values of the model are estimated. We further predict the TB prevalence trend in China. Sensitivity analysis for the control reproduction number and endemic equilibrium is conducted to seek some effective interventions that can significantly reduce initial TB transmission and lower TB prevalence levels in China. In the end, numerical simulations show that the bigger diffusive rates pick up the speeds of convergence to the equilibria of the model.

PPE39 of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain Beijing/K induces Th1-cell polarization through dendritic cell maturation

In a previous study, we have identified MTBK_24820, the complete protein form of PPE39 in the hypervirulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strain Beijing/K by using comparative genomic analysis. PPE39 exhibited vaccine potential against Mtb challenge in a murine model. Thus, in this present study, we characterize PPE39-induced immunological features by investigating the interaction of PPE39 with dendritic cells (DCs). PPE39-treated DCs display reduced dextran uptake and enhanced MHC-I, MHC-II, CD80 and CD86 expression, indicating that this PPE protein induces phenotypic DC maturation. In addition, PPE39-treated DCs produce TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-12p70 to a similar and/or greater extent than lipopolysaccharide-treated DCs in a dose-dependent manner. The activating effect of PPE39 on DCs was mediated by TLR4 through downstream MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways. Moreover, PPE39-treated DCs promoted naïve CD4⁺ T-cell proliferation accompanied by remarkable increases of IFN-γ and IL-2 secretion levels, and an increase in the Th1-related transcription factor T-bet but not in Th2-associated expression of GATA-3, suggesting that PPE39 induces Th1-type T-cell responses through DC activation. Collectively, the results indicate that the complete form of PPE39 is a so-far-unknown TLR4 agonist that induces Th1-cell biased immune responses by interacting with DCs.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

EVALUATION OF THE TUBERCULOSIS TRANSMISSION OF DRUG-RESISTANT STRAINS IN MAINLAND CHINA

In this paper, we propose a mathematical model to evaluate the transmission of Tuberculosis with drug-resistant strains and with drug-sensitive strains. Based on the epidemic data from Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, we first estimate the values of parameters in the model. Then the basic reproduction number of TB infection in the mainland China is calculated to be [Formula: see text] Since the basic reproduction number is greater than [Formula: see text] Tuberculosis spreads as an endemic in mainland China. Through our investigations, the basic reproduction number associated with drug-sensitive strains is less than 1, but the number of individuals infected by drug-resistant strains will still increase quickly, thus the epidemic is not under control. Moreover, increasing the vaccination coverage rate for newborns is not always beneficial for controlling TB prevalence in China. Whether vaccination effect is positive or negative depends on the relapse rate from the recovered state to the infected state. In summary, improving sanitation conditions, introducing efficient measures to detect the disease, and keeping the public informed about how to lower the chance of being infected and the current epidemic situation are essential in slowing down or eliminating Tuberculosis transmission.

Analysis of Transmission and Control of Tuberculosis in Mainland China, 2005-2016, Based on the Age-Structure Mathematical Model

Tuberculosis (TB), an air-borne infectious disease, is a major public-health problem in China. The reported number of the active tuberculosis cases is about one million each year. The morbidity data for 2005–2012 reflect that the difference in morbidity based on age group is significant, thus the role of age-structure on the transmission of TB needs to be further developed. In this work, based on the reported data and the observed morbidity characteristics, we propose a susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered (SEIR) epidemic model with age groupings, involving three categories: children, the middle-aged, and senior to investigate the role of age on the transmission of tuberculosis in Mainland China from 2005 to 2016. Then, we evaluated the parameters by the Least Square method and simulated the model and it had good alignment with the reported infected TB data in Mainland China. Furthermore, we estimated the basic reproduction number R0 of 1.7858, with an obtained 95% confidence interval for R0 of (1.7752,1.7963) by Latin hypercube sampling, and we completed a sensitivity analysis of R0 in terms of some parameters. Our study demonstrates that diverse age groups have different effects on TB. Two effective measures were found that would help reach the goals of the World Health Organization (WHO) End TB Strategy: an increase in the recovery rate and the reduction in the infectious rate of the senior age group.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE27 activates dendritic cells and contributes to Th1-polarized memory immune responses during in vivo infection

A gradual understanding of the proline-glutamate (PE) and proline-proline-glutamate (PPE) families, which compromise 10% of the coding regions in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) genome, has uncovered unique roles in host-pathogen interactions. However, the immunological function of PE27 (Rv2769c), the largest PE member, remains unclear. Here, we explored the functional roles and related signaling mechanisms of PE27 in the interaction with dendritic cells (DCs) to shape the T cell response. PE27 phenotypically and functionally induces DC maturation by up-regulating CD80, CD86, MHC class I and MHC class II expression on the DC surface to promote the production of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-12p70 but not IL-10. Additionally, we found that PE27-mediated DC activation requires the participation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling pathways. Interestingly, PE27-treated DCs directed naïve CD4(+) T cells to secrete IFN-γ and activate T-bet but not GATA-3. PE27 also induced IFN-γ-producing memory T cell responses in Mtb-infected mice, indicating that PE27 contributes to Th1-polarization. Taken together, these findings suggest that PE27 possesses Th1-polarizing potential through DC maturation and could be useful in the design of TB vaccines.

A lentiviral vector-based therapeutic vaccine encoding Ag85B-Rv3425 potently increases resistance to acute tuberculosis infection in mice

Few treatment options for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB call attention to the development of novel therapeutic approaches for TB. Therapeutic vaccines are promising candidates because they can induce antigen-specific cellular immune responses, which play an important role in the elimination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). In this study, a novel lentiviral vector therapeutic vaccine for delivering MTB-specific fusion protein Ag85B-Rv3425 was constructed. Results showed that one single-injection of this recombinant lentivirus vaccine could trigger antigen-specific Th1-type immune responses in mice. More importantly, mice with acute infection benefited a lot from a single-dose administration of this vaccine by markedly reduced MTB burdens in lungs and spleens as well as attenuated lesions in lungs compared with untreated mice. These results displayed good prospects of this novel vaccine for the immunotherapy of TB.