Setting: Bovine tuberculosis is a problem in a number of countries and protection of cattle by vaccination could be an important control strategy.

Objectives: To determine the ability of DNA vaccines, which express the mycobacterial antigens MPB83 and MPB70 and a DNA prime-protein boost strategy to stimulate immune responses in cattle and protect against bovine tuberculosis.

Design: Groups of cattle (n=10) were vaccinated with MPB83 DNA, MPB70 DNA, or MPB70 DNA followed by MPB70 protein or injected with BCG or control plasmid DNA. Animals were challenged intratracheally with virulent Mycobacterium bovis at 13 weeks and protection assessed 17 weeks later at postmortem.

Results: In contrast to the strong cellular immune responses induced by BCG, the DNA vaccines induced minimal interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) responses. Cattle primed with MPB70 DNA and boosted with MPB70 protein induced a strong antibody response and a weak IFN-γ response. BCG gave significant reduction in four pathological parameters of disease while the DNA vaccines and MPB70 DNA/protein did not protect animals against challenge with M. bovis. Moreover, cattle vaccinated with MPB70 DNA/protein had a significantly higher proportion of animals with severe lung lesions (>100 lesions) than the MPB70 DNA alone or the control group. Increased bovine PPD-specific IL-4 mRNA expression in cattle, post-challenge, correlated with the presence of tuberculous lung lesions.

Conclusion: Vaccination of calves with MPB70 or MPB83 DNA vaccines or with a more immunogenic MPB70 DNA prime-protein boost strategy did not induce protection against bovine tuberculosis.