Vaccines (Apr 2024)

Tuberculosis Vaccines and T Cell Immune Memory

  • Fei Li,
  • Wenrui Dang,
  • Yunjie Du,
  • Xiaonan Xu,
  • Pu He,
  • Yuhe Zhou,
  • Bingdong Zhu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12050483
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 5
p. 483

Abstract

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Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major infectious disease partly due to the lack of an effective vaccine. Therefore, developing new and more effective TB vaccines is crucial for controlling TB. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) usually parasitizes in macrophages; therefore, cell-mediated immunity plays an important role. The maintenance of memory T cells following M. tuberculosis infection or vaccination is a hallmark of immune protection. This review analyzes the development of memory T cells during M. tuberculosis infection and vaccine immunization, especially on immune memory induced by BCG and subunit vaccines. Furthermore, the factors affecting the development of memory T cells are discussed in detail. The understanding of the development of memory T cells should contribute to designing more effective TB vaccines and optimizing vaccination strategies.

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