Journal article

BCG Vaccination Induces Long-Term Functional Reprogramming of Human Neutrophils

SJCFM Moorlag, YA Rodriguez-Rosales, J Gillard, S Fanucchi, K Theunissen, B Novakovic, CM de Bont, Y Negishi, ET Fok, L Kalafati, P Verginis, VP Mourits, VACM Koeken, LCJ de Bree, GJM Pruijn, C Fenwick, R van Crevel, LAB Joosten, I Joosten, H Koenen Show all

Cell Reports | CELL PRESS | Published : 2020

Open access

Abstract

The tuberculosis vaccine bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) protects against some heterologous infections, probably via induction of non-specific innate immune memory in monocytes and natural killer (NK) cells, a process known as trained immunity. Recent studies have revealed that the induction of trained immunity is associated with a bias toward granulopoiesis in bone marrow hematopoietic progenitor cells, but it is unknown whether BCG vaccination also leads to functional reprogramming of mature neutrophils. Here, we show that BCG vaccination of healthy humans induces long-lasting changes in neutrophil phenotype, characterized by increased expression of activation markers and antimicrobial func..

View full abstract

University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation


Funding Acknowledgements

The authors thank all volunteers for their participation in this study. In addition, we would like to thank Helga Dijkstra, Heidi Lemmers, and Trees Jansen for their help. M.G.N. was supported by an ERC Advanced Grant (833247) and a Spinoza grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Y.A.R.-R. was supported by a CONACyT scholarship for graduate studies abroad (410825) from the Mexican Council for Science and Technology (CONACyT). C.M.d.B. and G.J.M.P. were supported in part by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) (05188). B.N. was supported by an NHMRC (Australia) New Investigator grant (1157556). T.C. was supported by an ERC grant (DEMETINL). S.F., Y.N., and M.M.M. received grant support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).