Researchers in the US have developed a nasal DNA vaccine that helped improve tuberculosis treatment in laboratory studies by reducing relapse and boosting the body’s immune response.
BALTIMORE: Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have developed an experimental nasal DNA vaccine designed to improve tuberculosis (TB) treatment by helping the immune system target drug-tolerant bacteria that can survive antibiotic therapy and cause the disease to return.
The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, showed promising results in laboratory studies involving mice. When administered alongside standard TB medicines, the vaccine helped clear bacteria more quickly, reduced lung inflammation and prevented relapse after treatment had ended.
Study lead author Styliani Karanika said the intranasal DNA fusion vaccine also enhanced the effectiveness of a powerful combination of medicines used to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis. The researchers believe the approach could strengthen the body’s natural immune response and improve outcomes for patients with difficult-to-treat infections if future studies confirm similar benefits in humans.
According to the World Health Organization, tuberculosis remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. Around one-quarter of the global population carries latent TB infection without symptoms. In 2024, more than 10 million people developed active tuberculosis and 1.2 million died from the disease, making it the leading infectious killer worldwide.
Unlike conventional vaccines that focus on preventing infection, the nasal DNA vaccine is being developed as a therapeutic treatment that works alongside existing antibiotics. Researchers say it specifically targets “persister” bacteria, which can survive lengthy treatment and trigger future relapses.
Scientists believe the new approach could represent an important step towards immunotherapy-based TB treatment by focusing on eliminating persistent bacteria rather than relying solely on antibiotics. They also noted that DNA vaccines are generally stable, easier to manufacture and potentially more practical for large-scale production if future clinical trials prove successful. Further human studies will be needed before the nasal DNA vaccine can become part of routine tuberculosis care.
