Immunogenicity and therapeutic effects of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis rv2190c DNA vaccine in mice

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global public health problem. New treatment methods on TB are urgently demanded. In this study, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) rv2190c DNA vaccine was prepared and its immunogenicity and therapeutic effects were evaluated. RESULTS: Non-infected mice immunized with rv2190c DNA or ag85a DNA showed higher levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) in stimulated spleen lymphocyte culture supernatants, and had more Th1 cells and an elevatory ratio of Th1/Th2 immune cells in whole blood, indicating that Th1-type immune response was predominant. Compared with the saline group, ag85a DNA group and rv2190c DNA group in the infected mice decreased the lung colony-forming units (CFUs) by 0.533 and 0.283 log(10), and spleen CFUs by 0.425 and 0.321 log(10) respectively, and pathological lesion. CONCLUSIONS: The rv2190c DNA had some immunotherapeutic effect on TB. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12865-017-0196-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.