Boosted Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine strategy significantly reduces tuberculosis relapse, scientists find
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Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world's leading causes of death, and preventing post-treatment relapse continues to be a major global health challenge. But a new study led by scientists at the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) reveals that combining an immunotherapy with the traditional Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine drastically lowers the risk of TB relapse in preclinical models.
The findings outline a promising avenue for strengthening long-term immune control against TB recurrence, in the latest issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases. The research was led by corresponding author Martin Gengenbacher, Ph.D., associate member of the CDI and faculty member at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, alongside lead author Chen-Yu Tsai, Ph.D., and collaborator Sabine Ehrt, Ph.D., professor of immunology and microbiology at Weill Cornell Medicine.
"These findings support further investigation of B-cell-targeted immunomodulation to improve durable immune control and reduce tuberculosis relapse," the authors report.
Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is currently the only approved TB vaccine used clinically, but it has drawbacks. It effectively protects children against severe disease, but its ability to prevent pulmonary TB in adults and stop relapse following treatment is limited. Recurrent infection after treatment accounts for a large part of the global TB burden.
Building on recent discoveries that specialized splenic B cells help restrict TB infection, the research team set out to determine whether immunotherapy designed to boost B-cell survival and activation could improve BCG-mediated protection against disease reactivation.
Using an established preclinical model of latent TB and spontaneous relapse, the investigators tested a combination of BCG vaccination and B-cell-targeting immunotherapy with recombinant A proliferation-inducing ligand (rAPRIL, a protein cytokine known to regulate B-cell survival and differentiation).
The preclinical studies demonstrated promising results: a relapse rate of 26% for the combined immunotherapy and vaccine therapy, compared with 60% for the vaccine alone and 78% with a saline control.
To better understand how the treatment worked, flow cytometry was used to analyze immune cell populations in the lungs and spleens. The investigators discovered that adjunctive rAPRIL immunotherapy selectively remodeled and activated marginal-zone B (MZB) cell compartments, significantly increasing markers associated with cellular activation and tissue retention (CD69 and CD86). In contrast, T-cell populations were only modestly affected across treatment groups, indicating that the enhanced protection was primarily driven by modulation of B-cell compartments.
By demonstrating this method of preventing TB recurrence, the CDI team's work provides a pathway for potential therapeutic and vaccine strategies designed to provide durable, lifelong immunity against TB.
Publication details
Chen-Yu Tsai et al, Bacille Calmette–Guérin Vaccination With Adjunctive A Proliferation–Inducing Ligand Immunotherapy Reduces Tuberculosis Relapse in Mice, The Journal of Infectious Diseases (2026). DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiag416
Journal information: Journal of Infectious Diseases
Clinical categories
Infectious diseasesCommon illnesses & PreventionAllergy and immunology Provided by Hackensack Meridian Health Who's behind this story?
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Citation: Boosted Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine strategy significantly reduces tuberculosis relapse, scientists find (2026, September 17) retrieved 17 September 2026 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-boosted-bacille-calmette-gurin-vaccine.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.