Highlights • COVID-19, the global pandemic has infected more than 12.8 million people causing pproximtely 5.7 lac deaths worldwide. • Fever, dry cough, breathing difficulties (dyspnoea), headache and pneumonia are the common symptoms. • Tuberculosis vaccine BCG exhibits beneficial heterologous effects. • Recombinant BCG vaccine expressing S protein may be a potential vaccine candidate against COVID-19. Mycobacterium bovis BCG, a live attenuated tuberculosis vaccine offers protection against disseminated TB in children. BCG exhibits heterologous protective effects against unrelated infections and reduces infant mortality due to non-mycobacterial infections. Recent reports have suggested that BCG vaccination might have protective effects against COVID-19, however it is highly unlikely that BCG vaccine in its current form can offer complete protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection due to the lack of specific immunity. Nonetheless, recombinant BCG strains expressing antigens of SARS-CoV-2 may offer protection against COVID-19 due to the activation of innate as well as specific adaptive immune response. Further proven safety records of BCG in humans, its adjuvant activity and low cost manufacturing makes it a frontrunner in the vaccine development to stop this pandemic. In this review we discuss about the heterologous effects of BCG, induction of trained immunity and its implication in development of a potential vaccine against COVID-19 pandemic.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Vaccine, trained immunity, BCG,