Correlates of Protection from Tuberculosis

Multiple immunological mechanisms interact to protect against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infection and/or tuberculosis (TB) disease. However, development of a much-needed new and effective TB vaccine is hindered by the lack of validated correlates of protection. The identification of correlates of protection would facilitate the rational design, optimisation and evaluation of TB vaccine candidates. In this chapter, we discuss what is currently known about protective immunity against M.tb and potential correlates of protection that have been proposed to date, both including and also looking beyond the central role of IFN-γ producing CD4+ T cells to consider innate and humoral immune parameters. Approaches to identifying and validating correlates of protection will also be reviewed.