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Tuberculosis vaccine strengthens immune system

Study by the Universities of Bonn and Nijmegen explains how BCG vaccination reduces susceptibility to infections

A tuberculosis vaccine developed 100 years ago also makes vaccinated persons less susceptible to other infections. While this effect has been recognized for a long time, it is not known what causes it. Together with colleagues from Australia and Denmark, researchers from Radboud university medical center the universities of Nijmegen and Bonn have now presented a possible answer to this question. Their results are also interesting against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic: several studies are currently testing the use of the vaccine in preventing severe disease progression in populations at risk such as hospital staff and elderly individuals. The study is published in the journal "Cell Host & Microbe".


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Branko Cirovic, L. Charlotte J. de Bree, Laszlo Groh, Bas A. Blok, Joyce Chan, Walter J.F.M. van der Velden, M.E.J. Bremmers, Reinout van Crevel, Kristian Händler, Simone Picelli, Jonas Schulte-Schrepping, Kathrin Klee, Marije Oosting, Valerie A.C.M. Koeken, Jakko van Ingen, Yang Li, Christine S. Benn, Joachim L. Schultze, Leo A.B. Joosten, Nigel Curtis, Mihai G. Netea und Andreas Schlitzer: BCG vaccination in humans elicits trained immunity via the hematopoietic progenitor compartment; Cell Host & Microbe; DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2020.05.014

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