Each year 1.5 million people die of tuberculosis thus making it the number one killer of all contagious diseases. With the number of multi-resistant tuberculosis growing, currently available treatments are no longer as effective as they used to be. The existing vaccine does not protect against pulmonary tuberculosis which is the most common form of the disease and easily transmittable. In this video, STEFAN H. E. KAUFMANN describes how this existing vaccine was modified to trigger an additional component of the cellular immune response. The researchers showed that it achieved profound reduction of bacterial load in the lung and an excellent safety profile in preclinical studies. The vaccine candidate is currently undergoing clinical trials to be approved for humans.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10207
Researcher
Stefan H.E. Kaufmann is a Founding Director of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, and Professor for Microbiology and Immunology at the Charité University Clinics, Berlin.
Kaufmann used to be the president of the German Society for Immunology and is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. As a leading researcher in the field of immunology, Kaufmann identifies tuberculosis as a continued health threat and explores how to make tuberculosis treatments more affordable and effective in the face of multi-resistant tuberculosis.
Institution
The Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology focuses on understanding how microbes cause disease and how hosts respond to this challenge. Its mission is to understand infections by viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and worms of two reasons: they present one of the most significant medical burdens on earth and the interaction between microbes and their host are an essential driver of evolution. To find answers to the fundamental questions of infection biology, the MPIIB brings together scientists from various disciplines. Hence the scale of the MPIIB research spans through the atomic, molecular, cellular, tissular, organismal, clinical and finally social level. The Institute is located at the historical Campus of the Charité Clinic in the heart of Berlin.
Original publication
Increased Vaccine Efficacy Against Tuberculosis of Recombinant Mycobacterium Bovis Bacille Calmette-Guerin Mutants that Secrete Listeriolysin
Grode Leander, Seiler Peter, Baumann Sven, Hess Jürgen, Brinkmann Volker, Eddine Ali Nasser, Mann Peggy, Goosmann Christian, Bandermann Silke, Smith Debbie, Gregory J. Bancroft, Jean-Marc Reyrat, Dick van Soolingen et al
The Journal of Clinical Investigation
Published in 2005
Reading recommendations
Tuberculosis Vaccines: Time for a Global Strategy
Kaufmann Stefan H.E., Evans Thomas G. and Hanekom Willem A.
Science Translational Medicine
Published in 2015
Future Vaccination Strategies Against Tuberculosis: Thinking Outside the Box
Kaufmann Stefan H.E.
Immunity
Published in 2010
The BCG Replacement Vaccine VPM1002: From Drawing Board to Clinical Trial
Grode Leander, Kaufmann Stefan H.E., Cotton Mark F., Eisele Bernd, Gengenbacher Martin, Hesseling Anneke C. and Walzl Gerhard
Expert Review of Vaccines
Published in 2014
New Vaccines for Tuberculosis
Kaufmann Stefan H.E., Hussey Gregory and Lambert Paul-Henri
The Lancet
Published in 2010
Novel Vaccination Strategies Against Tuberculosis
Kaufmann Stefan H.E. and Andersen Peter
Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine
Published in 2014
Tuberculosis Vaccines: Time to Think about the Next Generation
Kaufmann Stefan H.E.
Seminars in Immunology
Published in 2013
Show more
