Texas Biomed scientists developing new vaccine strategy for tuberculosis

For years, scientists have been trying to come up with a better way to protect people against tuberculosis, the disease caused by infection with the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) bacteria. Texas Biomedical Research Institute Professor Jordi Torrelles, Ph.D., says new hope is on the horizon after a recent experiment performed in mice showed great promise. The study was published in the journal Mucosal Immunology. “What we found is that our formulation of a vaccine protected better than the current vaccine and did not cause any lung tissue damage,” Dr. Torrelles said. “If further research proves safety and effectiveness, the vaccine can be delivered directly into the lungs.” The current vaccine, called BCG, is delivered by an intramuscular infection in the upper arm. “If it works, the drug delivery system for humans would be a spray delivered through a device similar to an asthma inhaler,” Dr. Torrelles explained. Expanding the population who can tolerate a...