efficacy of mycobacterium indicus pranii immunotherapy as an adjunct to chemotherapy for tuberculosis and underlying immune responses in the lungindicus pranii分枝杆菌免疫疗法的效果作为辅助化疗对肺部结核和潜在的免疫反应.pdfVIP

Efficacy of Mycobacterium indicus pranii Immunotherapy as an Adjunct to Chemotherapy for Tuberculosis and Underlying Immune Responses in the Lung 1 2 1 3 3 Ankan Gupta , Farhan J. Ahmad , Faiz Ahmad , Umesh D. Gupta , Mohan Natarajan , 3¤ 1 Vishwamohan Katoch , Sangeeta Bhaskar * 1 Product Development Cell, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, Delhi, India, 2 Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, Delhi, India, 3 Experimental Animal Facility and Department of Pathology, National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, Agra, India Abstract Background: The 9-month-long chemotherapy of tuberculosis often results in poor compliance and emergence of drug- resistant strains. So, improved therapeutic strategy is urgently needed. Immunotherapy could be beneficial for the effective management of the disease. Previously we showed the protective efficacy of Mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP) when given as prophylactic vaccine in animal models of tuberculosis. Methods: We sought to investigate whether MIP can be used as an adjunct to the chemotherapy in guinea pig models of tuberculosis. Efficacy of MIP was evaluated when given subcutaneously or by aerosol. Results: MIP-therapy as an adjunct to the chemotherapy was found to be effective in accelerating bacterial killing and improving organ pathology. MIP-immunotherapy resulted in higher numbers of activated antigen-presenting cells and lymphocytes in the infected lungs and also modulated the granulomatous response. Early increase in protective Th1 immune response was observed in the immunotherapy group. Following subsequent doses of MIP, decrease in