Tuberculosis vaccine can help people with type 1 diabetes

The team analyzed data from 282 human participants – 52 with type 1 diabetes who participated in BCG clinical trials and 230 who provided blood samples for mechanistic studies. (Source: Photo File)

A vaccine primarily used to treat tuberculosis (TB) may be effective in reducing hyperglycemia in people with type 1 diabetes, revealed the results of a clinical trial.

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin.

The results showed that, three years after receiving two doses of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine four weeks apart, patients with type 1 diabetes showed improvement in HbA1c hemoglobin – Aglycated normal levels.

"This is a clinical validation of the potential to stably lower blood sugar levels to near-normal levels with a safe vaccine, even in patients with chronic diseases," said Denise Faustman, Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Immunobiology Laboratory.

The study, published in the journal npj Vaccine, also reported that the effects of BCG vaccine on glycemic control appear to be dependent on a totally new metabolic mechanism that increases glucose cell consumption.

The team analyzed data from 282 human participants – 52 with type 1 diabetes who participated in BCG clinical trials and 230 who provided blood samples for mechanistic studies.

The results showed that HbA1c levels of those who received BCG had decreased by more than 10% in the three years following treatment and by more than 18% in four years.

The study showed that vaccination with BCG induces epigenetic reprogramming at the level of chromatin architecture and functional alterations indicating a permanent change in immunity.

Thus, the clinical effects and proposed mechanism add to the emerging consensus that the BCG vaccine can have a lasting and valuable impact on the immune system, the researchers said.

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