Journal des techniques immunologiques et des maladies infectieuses

Therapeutic Action Research of Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) on a Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Mouse Model

Chen biao YU, Ren Jiang, Yuan yuan Niu, Wei Shiu, Qian Gao and Chang Ran Zhang

Background: We have been determined that for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), after becoming infected with tuberculosis, the damages in their hematologic and complement systems were alleviated to a certain extent, this was an interesting phenomenon. So we hypothesized that tuberculosis infection could be useful for treating the SLE activity.
Methods: In order to verify the above research conclusions, the animal experiments were conducted in combination with an SLE model mouse with BCG vaccinations.
Results: The research results showed that, for the mice receiving BCG vaccinations, the serum protein complement C4 concentration was significantly higher than that of the normal saline control group. Also, the kidney damages of the experimental mice were alleviated, and their lifetimes were significantly extended.
Conclusions: The research results indicated that the BCG vaccine may have therapeutic effects on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).