Differential gene expression of BCG-vaccinated mice with M. tuberculosis infection upon adoptive transfer of M. tuberculosis-Ag-treated dendritic cells

Exploiting the central role of dendritic cells (DCs) in orchestrating immune responses offers the potential to improve the efficacy of BCG vaccines. Therefore, we aimed to enhance the efficacy of the BCG vaccine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection through the use of DCs, employing a strategy of targeting DCs after BCG vaccination, and to observe the accompanying immune response. We compared the differences in gene expression in lung tissue samples from BCG-immunized mice after adoptive transfer of DCs treated with Mtb antigens during the early stages of Mtb infection. Mice were vaccinated subcutaneously with BCG 10 weeks before the challenge. Bone marrow DCs (BMDCs) were differentiated with recombinant mouse granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and IL-4 in 10% fetal bovine serum and penicillin/streptomycin. BMDCs treated with Mtb culture filtrate antigens were adaptively transferred to one group of mice, while the other group did not receive any transfer. Three days after adaptive transfer, all mice were challenged with Mtb. Lung tissues were collected 1 week after Mtb infection and changes in gene expression were assessed.