Immunological effects of the PE/PPE family proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and related vaccines

Front Immunol. 2023 Sep 27:14:1255920. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1255920. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), and its incidence and mortality are increasing. The BCG vaccine was developed in the early 20th century. As the most widely administered vaccine in the world, approximately 100 million newborns are vaccinated with BCG every year, which has saved tens of millions of lives. However, due to differences in region and race, the average protective rate of BCG in preventing tuberculosis in children is still not high in some areas. Moreover, because the immune memory induced by BCG will weaken with the increase of age, it is slightly inferior in preventing adult tuberculosis, and BCG revaccination cannot reduce the incidence of tuberculosis again. Research on the mechanism of Mtb and the development of new vaccines against TB are the main strategies for preventing and treating TB. In recent years, Pro-Glu motif-containing (PE) and Pro-Pro-Glu motif-containing (PPE) family proteins have been found to have an increasingly important role in the pathogenesis and chronic protracted infection observed in TB. The development and clinical trials of vaccines based on Mtb antigens are in progress. Herein, we review the immunological effects of PE/PPE proteins and the development of common PE/PPE vaccines.

Keywords: Mycobacterium tubercolosis; PE/PPE family; immunology; tuberculosis; vaccine.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • BCG Vaccine
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Child
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis*
  • Tuberculosis Vaccines*
  • Tuberculosis* / prevention & control

Substances

  • BCG Vaccine
  • Tuberculosis Vaccines
  • Bacterial Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation (1908085MH252, 2008085QH405), Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Immunology in Chronic Diseases (KLICD-2022-Z3), Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Clinical and Preclinical Research in Respiratory Disease (HX2022Z02), and the 512 Talent Cultivation Plan of Bengbu Medical College (by51201309).