Abstract
It proved possible to increase the resistance of mice to tuberculous infection by vaccinating them with a suspension of avirulent tubercle bacilli killed by exposure to 2 per cent phenol. This increase in resistance was demonstrated by two different techniques: (a) observation of survival time of vaccinated animals following challenge infection with a large dose of virulent bacilli, and (b) determination of numbers of virulent bacilli in the spleens of animals 2 weeks after injection of a small infective dose. The minimum protective dose of vaccine corresponded to approximately one-tenth the acutely toxic dose. Addition of an adjuvant to the bacillary suspension markedly increased both the protective effectiveness of the vaccine and the duration of the immunity. It enhanced also the toxicity of the vaccine in approximately the same proportion. However, other lines of evidence suggested that toxicity and protective activity were independent one from the other and were the manifestations of different bacillary constituents. Extraction with absolute methanol released from the bacillary bodies a crude soluble fraction possessing low, if any, toxicity, yet capable of eliciting in mice a state of increased resistance to virulent infection. The protective activity of this methanol-soluble fraction was low; it accounted for only a small part of the total protective activity of the original material.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.0 MB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- AUBERT E. Cold stain for acid-fast bacteria. Can J Public Health. 1950 Jan;41(1):31–31. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- DUBOS R. J., SCHAEFER W. B., PIERCE C. H. Antituberculous immunity in mice vaccinated with killed tubercle bacilli. J Exp Med. 1953 Feb 1;97(2):221–233. doi: 10.1084/jem.97.2.221. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- NEGRE L., BRETEY J. Nouvelle preuve expérimentale de l'action immunisante de l'antigène méthylique. Rev Tuberc. 1953;17(10-11):1065–1067. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- PIERCE C. H., DUBOS R. J., SCHAEFER W. B. Multiplication and survival of tubercle bacilli in the organs of mice. J Exp Med. 1953 Feb 1;97(2):189–206. doi: 10.1084/jem.97.2.189. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- SALVIOLI G. Killed anti-tuberculosis vaccine and hyaluronidase (diffusing vaccine). Arch Dis Child. 1953 Feb;28(137):36–37. doi: 10.1136/adc.28.137.36. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- SIGURDSSON B. Vaccination against paratuberculosis (Johne's disease). J Immunol. 1952 May;68(5):559–565. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- SPITZNAGEL J. K., DUBOS R. J. A fraction of tubercle bacilli possessing primary toxicity. J Exp Med. 1955 Mar 1;101(3):291–311. doi: 10.1084/jem.101.3.291. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]