Recombinant M. Tuberculosis Rv0398c Antigen [His, GST]

Background Bovine tuberculosis and tuberculosis are chronic infectious diseases caused by theMycobacterium tuberculosiscomplex members,Mycobacterium bovisandMycobacterium tuberculosis, respectively. Infection withM. bovisandM. tuberculosishave significant implications for wildlife species management, public health, veterinary disease control, and conservation endeavours. Results Here we describe the first use of the VetMAX (TM) Mycobacterium tuberculosiscomplex (MTBC) DNA quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) detection kit for African wildlife samples. DNA was extracted from tissues harvested from 48 African buffaloes and MTBC DNA was detected (test-positive) in all 26 M. bovisculture-confirmed animals with an additional 12 PCR-positive results in culture-negative buffaloes (originating from an exposed population). Of six MTBC-infected African rhinoceros tested, MTBC DNA was detected in antemortem and postmortem samples from five animals. The PCR was also able to detect MTBC DNA in samples from two African elephants confirmed to haveM. bovisandM. tuberculosisinfections (one each). Culture-confirmed uninfected rhinoceros and elephants' samples tested negative in the PCR assay. Conclusions These results suggest this new detection kit is a sensitive screening test for the detection of MTBC-infected African buffaloes, African elephants and white rhinoceros.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the global leading cause of death from an infectious agent with approximately 10 million new cases of TB and 1.45 million deaths in 2018. Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) remains the only approved vaccine forMycobacterium tuberculosis(M. tb, causative agent of TB), however clinical studies have shown BCG has variable effectiveness ranging from 0-80% in adults. With 1.7 billion people latently infected, it is becoming clear that vaccine regimens aimed at both post-exposure and pre-exposure toM. tbwill be crucial to end the TB epidemic. The two main strategies to improve or replace BCG are subunit and live attenuated vaccines. However, following the failure of the MVA85A phase IIb trial in 2013, more varied and innovative approaches are being developed. These include recombinant BCG strains, genetically attenuatedM. tband naturally attenuated mycobacteria strains, novel methods of immunogenic antigen discovery including for hypervirulentM. tbstrains, improved antigen recognition and delivery strategies, and broader selection of viral vectors. This article reviews preclinical vaccine work in the last 5 years with focus on those tested againstM. tbchallenge in relevant animal models.