High antibody titres induced by protein subunit vaccines using antigens Hsp18 and MUL_3720 with a TLR-2 agonist fail to protect against Buruli ulcer in mice.

Background: is the causative agent of a debilitating skin and soft tissue infection known as Buruli ulcer (BU). There is no vaccine against BU. The purpose of this study was to investigate the vaccine potential of two previously described immunogenic proteins, MUL_3720 and Hsp18, using a mouse tail infection model of BU.

Vaccine-Specific Immune Responses against Mycobacterium ulcerans Infection in a Low-Dose Murine Challenge Model.

The neglected tropical disease Buruli ulcer (BU) is an infection of subcutaneous tissue with There is no effective vaccine. Here, we assessed an experimental prime-boost vaccine in a low-dose murine tail infection model. We used the enoyl reductase (ER) domain of the mycolactone polyketide synthases electrostatically coupled with a previously described Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR-2) agonist-based lipopeptide adjuvant, RPamCys.

Human blood MAIT cell subsets defined using MR1 tetramers.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells represent up to 10% of circulating human T cells. They are usually defined using combinations of non-lineage-specific (surrogate) markers such as anti-TRAV1-2, CD161, IL-18Rα and CD26. The development of MR1-Ag tetramers now permits the specific identification of MAIT cells based on T-cell receptor specificity.

Mycobacterium ulcerans low infectious dose and mechanical transmission support insect bites and puncturing injuries in the spread of Buruli ulcer.

Addressing the transmission enigma of the neglected disease Buruli ulcer (BU) is a World Health Organization priority. In Australia, we have observed an association between mosquitoes harboring the causative agent, Mycobacterium ulcerans, and BU. Here we tested a contaminated skin model of BU transmission by dipping the tails from healthy mice in cultures of the causative agent, Mycobacterium ulcerans.