BCG induced trained immunity through epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming
Please contact lisbeth.soederberg@ndm.ox.ac.uk to set up a meeting with the speaker.
The Bacille Calmette–Guerin (BCG), the only vaccine against tuberculosis, remains the most commonly used vaccine worldwide. In addition to its effects on mycobacterial diseases, BCG also exerts beneficial non-specific effects ranging from protection against non-mycobacterial diseases, decreased incidence of allergic diseases, and treatment of certain malignancies. This is thought to be caused by potentiation of innate immune responses through epigenetic mechanisms, a process termed ‘trained immunity’. The process of trained immunity may also account for BCG-associated resistance to infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis tuberculosis (also termed ‘early clearance’), and this could have important consequences for our quest for improving tuberculosis vaccination strategies.
BCG-induced trained immunity results in an increased in-vitro responsiveness of monocytes and macrophages, with effector functions such as cytokine production and reactive oxygen species release being increased upon secondary stimulation with non-related pathogens. The change in inflammatory profile and the underlying epigenetic changes are dependent on changes in cellular metabolism, and these metabolic changes are also epigenetically mediated, hence showing a complex interaction between immunometabolic pathways and epigenetic modifications in trained immunity.
Date: 13 March 2017, 11:00
Venue: Richard Doll Building, Old Road Campus OX3 7LF
Venue Details: Lecture Theatre
Speaker: Prof Reinout van Crevel (Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences )
Part of: Jenner Seminars
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Lisbeth Soederberg