To combat tuberculosis, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have designed a new method under which a vaccine candidate for the disease can be delivered by making use of Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMVs). These spherical vesicles, which can be delivered to immune cells, are secreted by bacteria coated on gold nanoparticles. The deliverance is expected to potentially trigger an immune response to offer protection against TB.
Across the world, TB, which is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, claims the lives of over a million people every year. Currently, BCG is the only effective vaccine against TB. It contains a weakened form of the disease-causing bacterium, which when injected into the bloodstream, produces antibodies which can help fight the disease.
However, the scientists have said that the BCG vaccine does not protect adolescents and adults as effectively as it does children. Prompted by this, Rachit Agarwal, Assistant Professor at the Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering (BSSE), IISc, and his group worked on developing a potential subunit vaccine candidate that contains only parts of the infectious bacterium to stimulate an immune response.
