Immune response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis: implications for vaccine development

Tuberculosis remains a major health problem globally. Although this threat would best be controlled by a combination of chemotherapy and vaccination, satisfactory vaccines are not available yet. Rational design of a novel vac cine generation against tuberculosis has become possible on the basis of re cent achievements in molecular genetics of the pathogen and immunology of t he host. Currently, two different strategies are pursued. First, the subuni t vaccine approach attempting to induce efficacious immunity by unique anti gens in defined adjuvants. Second, the whole bacterial vaccine approach rel ying on multiple antigens and built-in adjuvanticity. Time will tell which type of vaccine is best suited for eradication of tuberculosis. (C) 2000 El sevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.