Osong Public Health Res Perspect.  2012 Jun;3(2):68-73. 10.1016/j.phrp.2012.01.008.

Effect of Maternal Immune Status on Responsiveness of Bacillus Calmette-Gurin Vaccination in Mouse Neonates

• Choi JS
• Kim RY
• Rho S
• Ewann F
• Mielcarek N
• Song MK
• Czerkinsky C
• Kim JO

• KMID: 2518023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrp.2012.01.008

Abstract

Objectives
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination has proven to be efficient in immunologically naïve infants; however, it has not been investigated that maternal natural exposure to Mycobacterium and/or BCG vaccine could influence the characteristics of immune responses to BCG in newborns. In this study, we analyzed whether the maternal immune status to M tuberculosis (M tb) can affect neonatal immunity to BCG using a mouse model.
Methods
Neonates were obtained from mice that were previously exposed to live BCG, to live M avium, or to heat-killed M tb H37Rv, and from naïve control mothers. One week after birth, the neonates were divided into two subgroups: one group immunized with live BCG via the subcutaneous route and the other group of neonates sham-treated. Interferon-gamma (IFNγ) secretion in response to in vitro stimulation with heat-killed BCG or purified protein derivative (PPD) was examined. Protection against M tb infection was evaluated by challenging mice nasally with live M tb H37Rv followed by counting colonies from spleen and lung homogenates.
Results
BCG-immunized neonates showed increased IFNγ secretion in response to heat-killed BCG or PPD. All mice in BCG-immunized neonates subgroups showed reduced bacterial burden (colony forming unit) in the lungs when compared with control naive neonate mice. However, no statistically significant difference was observed when comparing BCG-immunized mice born from mothers previously exposed to M avium or immunized with either heat-killed H37Rv or live BCG and mice born from naïve mothers.
Conclusion
The maternal immune status to M tb does not appear to impact on the immunogenicity of BCG vaccine in their progeny in our experimental conditions

Keyword

BCG; maternal effect; neonates; tuberculosis