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Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccination, thymic size, and thymic output in healthy newborns.

ABSTRACT: The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG) has been associated with beneficial nonspecific effects on infant health. We aimed to examine the effect of BCG at birth on thymic size and the associations between thymic output, circulating lymphocytes, risk of infection, and thymic size.In infants randomized to BCG or no BCG, thymic index (TI), and thymic/weight index (TWI) were measured by ultrasound at birth and at the age of 3 mo. T cell subpopulations including CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and recent thymic emigrants (RTEs) were assessed by flow cytometry. Infections up to age 3 mo were parent-reported.BCG vaccination did not affect thymic size at age 3 mo, measured as TI. At birth, the number of lymphocytes, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and RTEs were positively associated with TI and TWI. Furthermore, a reduced risk of infections up to age 3 mo was associated with a large thymic size at birth.We found no effect of BCG vaccination on thymic size. The positive association between thymic output, lymphocytes, reduced risk of infections, and TI/TWI suggests that assessment of TI/TWI by ultrasound may be a predictor of the immunological capacity in the newborn.

SUBMITTER: Birk NM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5605675 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination, thymic size, and thymic output in healthy newborns.

Birk Nina Marie NM Nissen Thomas Nørrelykke TN Zingmark Vera V Kjærgaard Jesper J Thøstesen Lisbeth Marianne LM Kofoed Poul-Erik PE Stensballe Lone Graff LG Andersen Andreas A Nielsen Susanne Dam SD Benn Christine Stabell CS Pryds Ole O Jeppesen Dorthe Lisbeth DL

Pediatric research 20170203 6

<h4>Background</h4>The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG) has been associated with beneficial nonspecific effects on infant health. We aimed to examine the effect of BCG at birth on thymic size and the associations between thymic output, circulating lymphocytes, risk of infection, and thymic size.<h4>Methods</h4>In infants randomized to BCG or no BCG, thymic index (TI), and thymic/weight index (TWI) were measured by ultrasound at birth and at the age of 3 mo. T cell subpopulations including ...[more]

PMID: 28157835

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Project description:BackgroundThe Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine has been in use for 99 years, and is regarded as one of the oldest human vaccines known today. It is recommended primarily due to its effect in preventing the most severe forms of tuberculosis, including disseminated tuberculosis and meningeal tuberculosis in children; however, its efficacy in preventing pulmonary tuberculosis and TB reactivation in adults has been questioned. Several studies however have found that asides from its role in tuberculosis prevention, the BCG vaccine also has protective effects against a host of other viral infections in humans, an effect which has been termed: heterologous, non-specific or off-target.ObjectivesAs we approach 100 years since the discovery of the BCG vaccine, we review the evidence of the non-specific protection offered by the vaccine against viral infections, discuss the possible mechanisms of action of these effects, highlight the implications these effects could have on vaccinology and summarize the recent epidemiological correlation between the vaccine and the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsSeveral epidemiological studies have established that BCG does reduce all-cause mortality in infants, and also the time of vaccination influences this effect significantly. This effect has been attributed to the protective effect of the vaccine in preventing unrelated viral infections during the neonatal period. Some of such viral infections that have been investigated include: herpes simplex virus (HSV), human Papilloma virus (HPV), yellow fever virus (YFV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza virus type A (H1N1). These effects are thought to be mediated via induction of innate immune memory as well as heterologous lymphocytic activation. While epidemiological studies have suggested a correlation, the potential protection of the BCG vaccine against COVID-19 transmission and mortality rates is currently unclear. Ongoing clinical trials and further research may shed more light on the subject in the future.ConclusionBCG is a multifaceted vaccine, with many numerous potential applications to vaccination strategies being employed for current and future viral infections. There however is a need for further studies into the immunologic mechanisms behind these non-specific effects, for these potentials to become reality, as we usher in the beginning of the second century since the vaccine's discovery.

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Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccination, thymic size, and thymic output in healthy newborns.

Publications

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination, thymic size, and thymic output in healthy newborns.

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