Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major health problem worldwide. A Th1 type response with release of IFNγ and cytotoxic granules such as granulysin and perforin, play a major role in the disease. Measurements of protection after TB vaccination include IFNγ measures and T cell proliferation assays, which frequently fail to correlate well with protection. The lack of better vaccines than BCG and good correlates of protection demands that new biomarkers are found. A bovine homologue of granulysin (bo-lysin), cloned by our group, may be a good candidate as a biomarker molecule for TB vaccination. In the present study we examined the kinetics of bo-lysin, compared to perforin, IFNγ and Fas-L in vitro, after different stimulation conditions in different bovine T cell populations. Gene expression profile showed bo-lysin and IFNγ expression increase in an equal manner, with IFNγ showing up as early as 4 hours of stimulation and Bo-lysin at 24 hours, in BCG vaccinated animals. No expression was detected in non-vaccinated animals. Detection of IFNγ and perforin by flow cytometry showed increasing percentages of antigen specific perforin+ or IFNγ+ CD4+ and perforin+ or IFNγ+CD8+ T cells in BCG vaccinated animals, but none were observed in non-vaccinated animals. Results show that granulysin is a good candidate as a biomarker of protection after vaccination against TB.

Project funded by grant #USDA-NRICGP-2005-35204-16039

This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://dbpia.nl.go.kr/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights)
You do not currently have access to this article.