Patrick K. Owiafe, Philip C. Hill, Hannah B. Ibanga, Roger H. Brookes, Helen McShane, Jayne S. Sutherland and Martin O.C. Ota
MVA85A is a candidate boost vaccine for TB. A previously reported study showed no differences in response to MVA85A in 10 BCG vaccinated (BCG+) and 11 BCG naive (BCG-) adult Gambians. Here we evaluated the effect of pre-existing plasma cytokines in both groups before and after MVA85A vaccination on the vaccine-induced immune response. Pre-vaccination levels of IL-8 were higher in BCG+ subjects, whilst MCP-1 levels were lower compared to BCG-. Following MVA85A vaccination, concentrations of IL-8, IL-18, IL-12(p70) and MCP-1 were differentially induced between BCG+ and BCG- groups. The implications of these findings depend on their role in TB pathogenesis.