Avances en la caracterización de un proteoliposoma derivado de Mycobacterium bovis BCG como candidato vacunal contra la tuberculosis

Despite efforts to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) worldwide, this remains a serious health problem. The Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), the only available vaccine against TB, has variable efficacy and though protects against severe forms of the disease in childhood, has a questionable role in the protection against pulmonary tuberculosis in adults. In recent years, new TB vaccine candidates are being developed using multiple vaccine strategies. Taking into account the antigenic similarity of M. bovis BCG and M. tuberculosis, and the history of the use of proteoliposomes in vaccine formulations, we aimed to study the potentialities of a proteoliposome derived from M. bovis BCG (PLBCG) as a potential vaccine candidate against TB. The results demonstrate that a PLBCG was obtained, which was observed by different techniques and that is composed of nanoparticulate vesicles. Additionally, analysis by SDSPAGE followed by Coomassie stained showed the presence of several protein bands on PLBCG whose molecular size may correspond with that reported for M. bovis BCG protein having homology to M. tuberculosis.