Investigation article published in Scientific reports

December 22^nd, 2022

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a heat-inactivated Mycobacterium caprae (HIMC) vaccine in goats experimentally challenged with the same strain of M. caprae. Twenty-one goats were divided into three groups of seven: vaccinated with heat-inactivated Mycobacterium bovis (HIMB), with HIMC and unvaccinated. At 7 weeks post-vaccination all animals were endobronchially challenged with M. caprae. Blood samples were collected for immunological assays and clinical signs were recorded throughout the experiment. All goats were euthanized at 9 weeks post-challenge. Gross pathological examination, analysis of lung pathology using computed tomography, and bacterial load quantification in pulmonary lymph nodes (LN) by qPCR were carried out. Only HIMC vaccinated goats showed a significant reduction of lung lesions volume and mycobacterial DNA load in LN compared to unvaccinated controls. Both vaccinated groups showed also a significant reduction of the other pathological parameters, an improved clinical outcome and a higher proportion of IFN-γ-producing central memory T cells after vaccination. The results indicated that homologous vaccination of goats with HIMC induced enhanced protection against M. caprae challenge by reducing lung pathology and bacterial load compared to the heterologous vaccine (HIMB). Further large-scale trials are necessary to assess the efficacy of autovaccines under field conditions

Melgarejo C., Planas C., Cobos A., Arrieta-Villegas C., Sevilla IA., Bezos J., Moll X., Espada Y., Garrido JM., Domingo M., Vidal E. and Perez del Val B.

A proof-of-concept study to investigate the efficacy of heat-inactivated autovaccines in Mycobacterium caprae experimentally challenged goats

A proof-of-concept study to investigate the efficacy of heat-inactivated autovaccines in Mycobacterium caprae experimentally challenged goats

	Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA). Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). Instituto de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentarias (IRTA). Generalitat de Catalunya.
	Instituto de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentarias (IRTA). Generalitat de Catalunya.
	Departamento de Medicina y Cirurgia Animal. Departamento de Sanidad y de Anatomía Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB).
	Animal Health Department. Instituto Vasco de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario (NEIKER). Gobierno Vasco.
	Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA).
	Departamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM).
	Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM).
	Fundació Hospital Clínic Veterinari. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB).