rBCG30 (recombinant Bacillus Calmette-Guérin 30) is a prospective Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine against tuberculosis. It is a live vaccine, consisting of BCG, which has been evaluated as a tuberculosis vaccination. It is genetically modified to produce abundant amounts of mycolyl transferase, a 30kDa antigen (Antigen 85B)[1] that has been shown to produce a strong immune response in animals[2][3][4][5] and humans. rBCG30 had been in human clinical trials, [6] but no clinical development has been reported since 2007.[7]
History
Trials with rBCG30 were halted as the vaccine contained an antibiotic resistance gene.[8] A new version of the vaccine without the antibiotic resistance marker was created.[9] This new version of the vaccine, rBCG30-ARMF-II, often called rBCG30, also expresses 2.6 fold more Ag85B than the original vaccine.[9]
Research
The vaccine completed a Phase I double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial that demonstrated that rBCG30 was safe and immunogenic; during nine months of follow-up, rBCG30, but not BCG, induced significantly increased Antigen 85B-specific immune responses in eight immunological assays (blood lymphocyte proliferation, antibody responses by ELISA, interferon-gamma producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells ex vivo, central memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, interferon-gamma ELISPOT responses, and the capacity of T cells to activate macrophages to inhibit mycobacterial intracellular multiplication).[6] An additional animal study found that rBCG30 also helps protect against Mycobacterium leprae, the bacteria that causes leprosy.[10] Disrupting IL10/STAT3 signaling during vaccination through small molecules enhances vaccination efficacy.[11][12][13][14]
References
^Horwitz MA (May 2005). "Recombinant BCG expressing Mycobacterium tuberculosis major extracellular proteins". Microbes and Infection. 7 (5–6): 947–54. doi:10.1016/j.micinf.2005.04.002. PMID15919223.
^ abUS 8932846, Horwitz MA, Tullius MV, "Unmarked recombinant intracellular pathogen immunogenic compositions expressing high levels of recombinant proteins", issued 13 January 2015, assigned to University of California.
^Ahmad F, Umar MS, Zubair S, Khan N, Gupta P, Gupta UD, et al. (2022-10-01). "Efficacy of IL10/STAT3 directed small molecule immunotherapy in augmenting the potential of rBCG30 vaccine against murine pulmonary tuberculosis". Molecular Immunology. 150: 14. doi:10.1016/j.molimm.2022.05.053. ISSN0161-5890. S2CID252930472.
^Ahmad F, Umar MS, Khan N, Gupta P, Gupta UD, Owais M (May 2020). "A small molecule based immunotherapy targeting IL-10/STAT3 praxis to augment the potential of rBCG30 vaccine against experimental tuberculosis". The Journal of Immunology. 204 (1_Supplement): 168.24. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.204.supp.168.24. ISSN0022-1767. S2CID255645861.