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Article

BCG Provides Short-Term Protection from Experimental Cerebral Malaria in Mice

1
Junior Research Group Coinfection, Priority Area Infections, Research Center Borstel-Leibniz Lung Center, 23845 Borstel, Germany
2
Core Facility Fluorescence Cytometry, Research Center Borstel-Leibniz Lung Center, 23845 Borstel, Germany
3
Centre for Infectious Diseases, Parasitology Unit, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
4
German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), TTU Malaria, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Vaccines 2020, 8(4), 745; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8040745
Received: 20 November 2020 / Revised: 5 December 2020 / Accepted: 7 December 2020 / Published: 9 December 2020
Clinical and experimental evidence suggests that the tuberculosis vaccine BCG offers protection against unrelated pathogens including the malaria parasite. Cerebral malaria (CM) is the most severe complication associated with Plasmodium falciparum infection in humans and is responsible for most of the fatalities attributed to malaria. We investigated whether BCG protected C57BL/6 mice from P. berghei ANKA (PbA)-induced experimental CM (ECM). The majority of PbA-infected mice that were immunized with BCG showed prolonged survival without developing clinical symptoms of ECM. However, this protective effect waned over time and was associated with the recovery of viable BCG from liver and spleen. Intriguingly, BCG-mediated protection from ECM was not associated with a reduction in parasite burden, indicating that BCG immunization did not improve anti-parasite effector mechanisms. Instead, we found a significant reduction in pro-inflammatory mediators and CD8+ T cells in brains of BCG-vaccinated mice. Together these data suggest that brain recruitment of immune cells involved in the pathogenesis of ECM decreased after BCG vaccination. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of BCG on PbA-induced ECM can provide a rationale for developing effective adjunctive therapies to reduce the risk of death and brain damage in CM. View Full-Text
Keywords: BCG; Plasmodium berghei ANKA; experimental cerebral malaria; heterologous immunity; non-specific protection BCG; Plasmodium berghei ANKA; experimental cerebral malaria; heterologous immunity; non-specific protection
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MDPI and ACS Style

Witschkowski, J.; Behrends, J.; Frank, R.; Eggers, L.; von Borstel, L.; Hertz, D.; Mueller, A.-K.; Schneider, B.E. BCG Provides Short-Term Protection from Experimental Cerebral Malaria in Mice. Vaccines 2020, 8, 745. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8040745

AMA Style

Witschkowski J, Behrends J, Frank R, Eggers L, von Borstel L, Hertz D, Mueller A-K, Schneider BE. BCG Provides Short-Term Protection from Experimental Cerebral Malaria in Mice. Vaccines. 2020; 8(4):745. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8040745

Chicago/Turabian Style

Witschkowski, Julia, Jochen Behrends, Roland Frank, Lars Eggers, Linda von Borstel, David Hertz, Ann-Kristin Mueller, and Bianca E. Schneider. 2020. "BCG Provides Short-Term Protection from Experimental Cerebral Malaria in Mice" Vaccines 8, no. 4: 745. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8040745

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