Although the attenuated
Mycobacterium bovis
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has been used since
1921, tuberculosis (TB) control still proceeds at a slow pace. The main reason is the variable efficacy of BCG protection
against TB among adults, which ranges from 0-80%. Subsequently, the mc
2-CMX vaccine was developed with
promising results. Nonetheless, this recombinant vaccine needs to be compared to the standard BCG vaccine. The
objective of this study was to evaluate the immune response induced by mc
2-CMX and compare it to the response
generated by BCG. BALB/c mice were immunised with both vaccines and challenged with
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
(Mtb). The immune and inflammatory responses were evaluated by ELISA, flow cytometry, and histopathology.
Mice vaccinated with mc
2-CMX and challenged with Mtb induced an increase in the IgG1 and IgG2 levels against
CMX as well as recalled specific CD4
+ T-cells that produced T-helper 1 cytokines in the lungs and spleen compared
with BCG vaccinated and challenged mice. Both vaccines reduced the lung inflammatory pathology induced by the
Mtb infection. The mc
2-CMX vaccine induces a humoral and cellular response that is superior to BCG and is efficiently
recalled after challenge with Mtb, although both vaccines induced similar inflammatory reductions.