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. 2022 Jun 29;10(3):e0169321.
doi: 10.1128/spectrum.01693-21. Epub 2022 Jun 2.

Mouse Subcutaneous BCG Vaccination and Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection Alter the Lung and Gut Microbiota

Affiliations

Mouse Subcutaneous BCG Vaccination and Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection Alter the Lung and Gut Microbiota

Fabiola Silva et al. Microbiol Spectr. .

Abstract

The objective of this study was to characterize the effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination and M. tuberculosis infection on gut and lung microbiota of C57BL/6 mice, a well-characterized mouse model of tuberculosis. BCG vaccination and infection with M. tuberculosis altered the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla in the lung compared with control group. Vaccination and infection changed the alpha- and beta-diversity in both the gut and the lung. However, lung diversity was the most affected organ after BCG vaccination and M. tuberculosis infection. Focusing on the gut-lung axis, a multivariate regression approach was used to compare profile evolution of gut and lung microbiota. More genera have modified relative abundances associated with BCG vaccination status at gut level compared with lung. Conversely, genera with modified relative abundances associated with M. tuberculosis infection were numerous at lung level. These results indicated that the host local response against infection impacted the whole microbial flora, while the immune response after vaccination modified mainly the gut microbiota. This study showed that a subcutaneous vaccination with a live attenuated microorganism induced both gut and lung dysbiosis that may play a key role in the immunopathogenesis of tuberculosis. IMPORTANCE The microbial communities in gut and lung are important players that may modulate the immunity against tuberculosis or other infections as well as impact the vaccine efficacy. We discovered that vaccination through the subcutaneous route affect the composition of gut and lung bacteria, and this might influence susceptibility and defense mechanisms against tuberculosis. Through these studies, we can identify microbial communities that can be manipulated to improve vaccine response and develop treatment adjuvants.

Keywords: BCG vaccine; gut microbiota; gut–lung axis; lung microbiota; tuberculosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIG 1
FIG 1
Microbiota alpha-and beta-diversity of gut and lung samples from control and BCG groups. Diversity metrics from gut (A, C) and lung (B, D) samples. Alpha-diversity plots shown in A and B. Beta-diversity clustering shown in C and D. Analyses based control (formula image) vs BCG groups (formula image).
FIG 2
FIG 2
Microbiota alpha-and beta-diversity of gut and lung samples from BCG and BCG+Mtb groups. Diversity metrics from gut (A, C) and lung (B, D) samples. Alpha-diversity plots shown in A and B. Beta-diversity clustering shown in C and D. Analyses based on infected and vaccinated status of the mice. BCG (formula image) vs BCG+Mtb group (formula image).
FIG 3
FIG 3
Microbiota alpha-and beta-diversity of gut and lung samples from control and Mtb groups. Diversity metrics from gut (A, C) and lung (B, D) samples. Alpha-diversity plots shown in A and B. Beta-diversity clustering shown in C and D. Analyses based on infected unvaccinated mice. control (formula image) vs Mtb group (formula image).
FIG 4
FIG 4
Distribution of phylum relative abundance caused by vaccination and infection. Vaccination and infection effects on gut (A–C) and lung (D–F). control vs BCG groups (A, D), control vs Mtb groups (B, E), BCG vs BCG+Mtb groups (C, F). Significant at P < 0.05, * using Wilcoxon rank sum test with continuity correction are reported among Actinobacteria formula image, Bacteroidetes formula image, Cyanobacteria formula image, Firmicutes formula image, Proteobacteria formula image, Tenericutes formula image, and Verrucomicrobia formula image.
FIG 5
FIG 5
Credible intervals of phyla associated with the BCG vaccination and M. tuberculosis infection. Phyla found to be credibly associated with BCG vaccination and M. tuberculosis infection status on gut (A, B) and lung (C, D) in at least one of our two conditions at day 7 (A, C) and day 21 (B, D) using a multivariate regression model. Intervals that do not include 0 are determined associated with the studied factor.
FIG 6
FIG 6
Gut genera found to be credibly associated with BCG vaccination and M. tuberculosis infection. Genera associated in at least one of our two conditions at day 7 (A) and day 21 (B) using a multivariate regression model.
FIG 7
FIG 7
Lung genera found to be credibly associated with BCG vaccination and M. tuberculosis infection. Genera associated in at least one of our two conditions at day 7 (A) and day 21 (B) using a multivariate regression model.
FIG 8
FIG 8
M. tuberculosis CFU obtained from lung. Lung from group 3 and 4 were assessed to determine the viable count of M. tuberculosis. No statistical differences were observed at day 7 or 21 postinfection.
FIG 9
FIG 9
Timeline of vaccination, infection, and sampling. Timeline of the vaccination, infection, and sampling of the study groups; 1. control, 2. BCG vaccinated (BCG), 3. BCG vaccinated and M. tuberculosis-infected (BCG+Mtb), 4. M. tuberculosis-infected (Mtb). All study groups consisted of 10 mice/group. The dose of the BCG vaccine was 5 × 105 CFU/mL. The M. Tuberculosis inoculum was 2 × 106 CFU/mL.

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