@article{9cb54ab0c1b646c3970cfd2c197d7302,
title = "Human T cell responses induced by vaccination with Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Gu{\'e}rin",
abstract = "Many aspects of the widely used bacillus Calmette-Gu{\'e}rin (BCG) vaccine against tuberculosis are still the subject of controversy. There is a huge variation in efficacy from one clinical trial to another and no relationship between vaccine-induced skin test conversion and subsequent protection. We have studied in vitro cell-mediated immune responses primed by BCG vaccination in 22 healthy Danish donors with different levels of in vitro purified protein derivative (PPD) reactivity before vaccination. The study demonstrated a markedly different development of reactivity to mycobacterial Ags depending on the prevaccination sensitivity to PPD. Previously sensitized donors mounted a potent and highly accelerated recall response within the first week of BCG vaccination. Nonsensitized donors, in contrast, exhibited a gradually increasing responsiveness to mycobacterial Ags, reaching maximal levels between day 56 and 365 postvaccination. The recognition of different classes of Ags were induced in a stepwise manner: culture filtrate Ags were recognized 1 wk postvaccination followed by cell wall, membrane, and the cytosolic Ag fraction. The T cell response primed by BCG vaccination was characterized as a CD4 response with a Th1-like cytokine pattern and substantial levels of Ag-specific cytotoxicity. The specificity of the T cell response generated was broad and directed to a range of culture filtrate Ag fractions. The study shows that BCG vaccination of previously nonsensitized donors can provide important data on potentially protective immune responses in humans and suggest a careful evaluation of prevaccination sensitivity when investigating vaccine-induced immunity.",
keywords = "Adolescent, Adult, Antigens, Bacterial, BCG Vaccine, CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes, Cells, Cultured, Cytokines, Cytotoxicity, Immunologic, Epitopes, Female, Humans, Lymphocyte Activation, Male, Mycobacterium bovis, T-Lymphocytes, Th1 Cells",
author = "P Ravn and H Boesen and Pedersen, {B K} and P Andersen",
year = "1997",
language = "English",
volume = "158",
pages = "1949--55",
journal = "Journal of Immunology",
issn = "0022-1767",
publisher = "American Association of Immunologists",
number = "4",
}