The potential of imaging tools as correlates of infection and disease for new TB vaccine development

Abstract

The development of an improved vaccine to stimulate an effective response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection and disease will be a major breakthrough in the fight against TB. A lack of tools to adequately track the progression or resolution of events in TB pathogenesis that occur at bacterial loads below the threshold for culture in human samples seriously hampers vaccine development and evaluation. In this review we discuss recent studies that use new imaging applications, modalities and analysis techniques to provide insight into the dynamic processes of MTB infection and disease that are challenging to monitor. These include early infection, the spectrum of latency and subclinical disease, the paucibacillary state induced by treatment, and events leading to recurrence, including relapse.

Keywords: Imaging; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; PET/CT; Pathogenesis; Treatment; Vaccine.