Is BCG immunisation resulting in protective immune responses against fungal pathogens?

Summary

Clinical observations have shown that BCG immunisation might also prevent other bacterial and viral infections in addition to tuberculosis. We want to research if BCG vaccination is also helping to prevent fungal infections.

What are we doing?

We are assessing if BCG immunisation can improve the immune response against fungal pathogens. If we can show that BCG immunisation is boosting the immune response against fungi, this might lead to new ways to prevent fungal diseases.

How are we doing it?

Blood samples collected from people who have participated to the BRACE Trial: ‘BCG vaccination to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in healthcare workers’, will be used. We will isolate a specific subset of white blood cells to be stimulated with various fungal pathogens. We will measure cytokines and assess cell activation markers using flow cytometry. A comparison between participants who received BCG and those who received placebo will be made to see if BCG immunisation leads to better immune responses to fungal pathogens.

What happens next?

When the results become available, we will share those with the medical and scientific community, and with the public.

Collaborators

Professor Nigel Curtis, Melbourne, Australia