Drug treatment combined with BCG vaccination reduces disease reactivation in guinea pigs infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Bacillus-Calmette-Guerin (BCG), the only human tuberculosis vaccine, primes a partially protective immune response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in humans and animals. In guinea pigs, BCG vaccination slows the progression of disease and reduces the severity of necrotic granulomas, which harbor a population of drug-tolerant bacilli. The objective of this study was to determine if reducing disease severity by BCG vaccination of guinea pigs prior to M.

Activities of TMC207, rifampin, and pyrazinamide against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in guinea pigs.

The experimental compound TMC207 is showing promise against infections caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis both in a variety of animal studies and in the field. In this study, we used the guinea pig model, a species that shows several similarities to human tuberculosis, including the hallmark of primary granuloma necrosis, to determine the efficacy of a combination regimen combining TMC207 with rifampin and pyrazinamide. This drug regimen rapidly reduced the bacterial load in the lungs to undetectable levels by 8 weeks of treatment.

Evaluation of standard chemotherapy in the guinea pig model of tuberculosis.

The purpose of this study was 2-fold. First, we evaluated standard chemotherapy in the guinea pig model of tuberculosis to determine if this animal species could productively be used for this purpose. Second, given the similarities of the pathology of disease in guinea pigs and humans, we wished to evaluate additional parameters, including magnetic resonance imaging, microscopy, and cytokine expression and lymphocyte phenotypes, in response to an infection treated with drug therapy.