Immunology of tuberculosis: new directions in research.

Tuberculosis is still one of the major health problems in almost all over the world. Thus, new directions in basic and applied research on tuberculosis are under investigation. In this review we have provided recent data obtained in our laboratories on three main aspects of the immunology of tuberculosis, namely: i. the role of B lymphocytes in the processing and presentation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens to T cells; ii. the activation and characterization of mycobacterial-specific T cell clones; iii. the T cell regulation of the immune response to M. tuberculosis. The analysis of the antigenic determinants of M. tuberculosis relevant in the antimycobacterial immunity is the major goal of the WHO programme on the immunology of tuberculosis. In fact, the attempt to develop a second generation vaccine against this microorganism is now possible by analyzing recombinant genomic DNA libraries of M. tuberculosis with monoclonal antibodies and T cell clones. In the near future, the identification of epitopes recognized by mycobacterial-specific T cells with helper, cytotoxic and suppressor functions will allow the preparation of recombinant and synthetic vaccines effective in the control of this disease.