Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), a vaccine against tuberculosis, could reduce inflammation in healthy elderly people1.
The vaccine dampens inflammation by lowering the levels of inflammation-related marker proteins. It also checks the secretion of specific proteins discharged during lung inflammation, a research team from Chennai says.
These findings, the researchers say, show that the vaccine could potentially be used to protect elderly people against COVID-19, which primarily affects the lungs.
Recent studies have indicated that the BCG vaccine enhances antiviral immune responses, making it a likely candidate in the fight against COVID-19. However, it remains unknown how the vaccine generates such immune responses.
To investigate it, scientists from the ICMR-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis and the ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, both in Chennai, India, vaccinated people between 60 and 80 years living in COVD-19 hotspots. They then measured the levels of inflammation-related proteins such as cytokines, acute-phase proteins (APPs) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in their blood before and one month after vaccination.
BCG-vaccinated individuals exhibited decreased blood levels of cytokines, APPs and MMPs compared with unvaccinated ones.
Specific small inflammation-related proteins, which have roles in COVID-19, were decreased in the vaccinated individuals. The vaccination also decreased the levels of specific inflammation-related growth factors.
Since BCG vaccination does not increase inflammation, it is safe for elderly individuals, the researchers say.
