Khaberni - Scientists may be on the verge of developing a new vaccine to combat tuberculosis, one of the deadliest diseases in the world.
In 2023, nearly 10.8 million people were infected with tuberculosis
Over a century ago, researchers developed the BCG vaccine, which led to a significant reduction in tuberculosis cases in the United States, for example, from over 80,000 cases annually to just a few hundred in the following decades.
However, according to "Daily Mail", tuberculosis still claims the lives of more than one million people annually, and is particularly lethal in developing countries where access to modern antibiotics is limited.
The disease's resistance to some drugs has become the main cause of infectious deaths worldwide.
The current vaccine offers less protection for adults, despite its effectiveness for children, especially in regions with a high incidence of tuberculosis.
The new generation of the vaccine
Now, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are working on a next-generation vaccine using proteins produced by the tuberculosis bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
The team infected human macrophages, which are white blood cells that boost immunity by engulfing pathogens and destroying them, with tuberculosis bacteria.
Then they extracted proteins called MHC-II from the surface of these cells, and identified specific peptides, which are short chains of amino acids, that bind to these proteins.
The researchers discovered that 24 peptides induced a response from T cells, which are immune system cells that fight pathogens, suggesting that these peptides help T cells better recognize and effectively destroy tuberculosis bacteria.
The research team believes a vaccine using a combination of these peptides will likely succeed with most people.
Great hope for the new vaccine
Brian Bryson, Associate Professor of Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a member of the Ragon Institute affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital Brigham in Boston, said: "There is still a tremendous burden of tuberculosis worldwide, and we hope to make a difference."
He continued explaining: "What we tried to do in this initial vaccine against tuberculosis was to focus on the antigens that we saw repeatedly in our tests, which also seem to stimulate a response in the T cells even in those who were previously infected with tuberculosis."
Vaccine of 1921
The prevention of tuberculosis across the globe primarily uses the BCG vaccine, which was developed in 1921.
Since then, no other vaccines have been approved for use, largely because Mycobacterium tuberculosis produces more than 4,000 proteins, which makes it difficult to identify those that stimulate a strong immune response.
World Health Organization estimates indicate that in 2023, nearly 10.8 million people were infected with tuberculosis, with 1.25 million deaths resulting from the disease.
