Immune responses in bovine tuberculosis

Knowledge of the immune responses which develop in cattle following infecti on with Mycobacterium bovis is essential both to the understanding of disea se pathogenesis and to the logical development of immune-dependent tools, s uch as diagnostic tests and vaccines, which can be used to combat the disea se. Studies of field cases of bovine tuberculosis (TB) and of experimental bovine models of M. bovis infection have indicated that cell-mediated immun e responses (CMI) predominate within a spectrum of immunity which exists. T his paper reviews aspects of recent research and indicates how knowledge of T-cell antigenic targets in bovine TB along with increasing knowledge of T -cell subpopulations and their interactions with M. bovis-infected macropha ges provides opportunities for the development of better methods for diseas e control. (C) 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.