• Vaccine Name: MVA85A prime and BCG boost
• Target Pathogen: Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• Target Disease: Tuberculosis
• Vaccine Ontology ID: VO_0004106
• Type: Subunit vaccine
• Antigen: Mycobacterial mycolyl transferase Ag85A (Vordermeier et al., 2004).
• FbpA (Ag85A) gene engineering:
  • Type: Recombinant virus expressing Ag85A
  • Description:
  • Detailed Gene Information: Click Here.
• Virulence: MVA is avirulent in normal and immunocompromised animals and has shown no significant side-effects in 120,000 vaccinated humans. Recombinant fowlpox FP9 cannot replicate in mammalian cells and is not pathogenic in mammals or birds (Vordermeier et al., 2004).

Cattle Response

• Host Strain: Friesians, 6-mo. old
• Vaccination Protocol: Groups of four calves were subjected to one of five schedules in the first experiment: Group 1: MVA85A was administered at week 0, followed by BCG at week 9. Group 2: BCG Pasteur was administered at week 0, followed by MVA85A at week 9. Group 3: BCG administered at week 0, FP85A (fowlpox) administered at week 8, followed by MVA85A at week 10. Group 4: FP85A administered at weeks 0 and 3, followed by MVA85A at week 8. Group 5: (treatments reversed versus group 4): MVA85A administered at weeks 0 and 3, followed by FP85A at week 8 (Vordermeier et al., 2004). A 10^6 CFU dose of BCG was injected subcutaneously in side of neck with 1 ml PBS. MVA8A and FP85A doses were each administered as 10^9 plaque-forming units (PFUs) in PBS in a total 0.1 mL injection volume at each injection site. Animals skin tested with SICCT 14 weeks post-first vaccination (Vordermeier et al., 2004). In the second experiment, six calves were vaccinated s.c. with 10^6 CFU BCG Pasteur in 1 ml PBS. Three calves each were revaccinated with either a 10^9 PFU dose of MVA85 (intradermal) or 10^6 CFU dose of BCG Pasteur, 5 weeks later (Vordermeier et al., 2004).
• Immune Response: Prime-boost protocols, using recombinant MVA and BCG in combination (groups 1-3), resulted in significantly higher frequencies of Ag85-specific IFN-gamma-secreting cells than the two viral vectors used in combination (P=0.0055), or BCG used alone (groups 2 and 3, P=0.04) (Vordermeier et al., 2004).