Abstract
In late 2019, a new virulent coronavirus (CoV) emerged in Wuhan, China and was named as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). This virus spread rapidly, causing the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a live attenuated tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, associated with induction of non-specific cross-protection against unrelated infections. This protection is a memory-like response in innate immune cells (trained immunity), which is caused by epigenetic reprogramming via histone modification in the regulatory elements of specific genes in monocytes. COVID-19 related epidemiological studies showed an inverse relation- ship between national BCG vaccination policies and COVID-19 incidence and death, suggesting that BCG may induce trained immunity that could confer some protection against SARS-CoV-2. As this pandemic has put most of Earth’s population under quarantine, repurposing of the old, well-characterized BCG may ensure some protection against COVID-19. This review focuses on BCG-related cross-protection and acquisition of trained immunity, as well as the correlation between BCG vaccination and COVID-19 incidence and mortality.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1169-1184 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Infection and Drug Resistance |
Volume | 14 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2021 |
Keywords
- BCG vaccine
- Coronavirus
- Covid-19
- Trained immunity
- Tuberculosis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology
- Infectious Diseases
- Pharmacology (medical)