Development of mixed Th1/Th2 type immune response and protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis after rectal or subcutaneous immunization of newborn and adult mice with Mycobacterium bovis BCG

Cell-mediated immunity plays a key role in containing the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the host. The induction of an antibody response or a mixed cell-mediated and humoral response is frequently associated with tuberculosis disease or a decrease in the ability to control M. tuberculosis load. We recently reported the induction of similar immune responses and protection by rectal, subcutaneous (SC) or intradermal administration of Mycobacterium bovis BCG in adult mice, guinea pigs and macaques. The rectal immunization, which did not induce the side-effects associated with parenteral routes (axillary adenitis) and which could be used to reduce the risks of viral transmission associated with unsafe injections in the developing world, was analysed and compared in newborn and adult BALB/c mice. The rectal and SC immunization induced, in mice immunized as newborns or as adults, a mixed T helper 1/T helper 2 (Th1/Th2) immune response; however, particularly in adult mice, after SC administration of BCG, the level of Th2 immune response is significantly higher than it is by the rectal route. Six months after immunization with BCG, rectal and SC delivery induced similar levels of protective immunity against a virulent challenge with M. tuberculosis strain (H37Rv) in mice immunized as adults, but the rectal BCG delivery triggered stronger protection than the SC delivery if mice were immunized as newborns.