The immune response to the cell wall of Mycobacterium bovis BCG.

Mice were immunized with the cell wall of BCG suspended in an oil-in-saline emulsion, and examined against time for the emergence of T cell-mediated acquired immunity. Evidence is presented that shows that levels of acquired resistance expressed in these animals over the first month following inoculation, and which enabled them to substantially resist an intravenous challenge infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, were completely nonspecific in nature, in that they were equally well expressed in normal and T cell-deficient mice, and were present at a time when no protective T cell activity could be passively transferred from the inoculated host. Paradoxically, in contrast, weak but statistically significant protective immunity could be detected in the spleens of CW-immunized mice approximately 3 months after inoculation, at a time when the donor animals were devoid of resistance to rechallenge. Finally, evidence is presented that shows that the CW material, if given subcutaneously, is highly immunogenic for the generation of delayed-type hypersensitivity effector T cells; however, these cells do not themselves contribute to protective immunity.