100 years of Bacillus Calmette–Guérin immunotherapy: from cattle to COVID-19

Nature Reviews Urology, Published online: 15 June 2021; doi:10.1038/s41585-021-00481-1Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) has been used to prevent tuberculosis for a century and is also a standard approach for the treatment of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. However, BCG also has a plethora of non-specific effects that occur via the induction of trained immunity and have raised the hypothesis that BCG vaccination could be used to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this Perspective, the authors describe the history of BCG, discuss the mechanisms of its effects, and consider its potential role during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Nature Reviews Urology - June 15, 2021 Category: Urology & Nephrology Authors: Niyati Lobo Nathan A. Brooks Alexandre R. Zlotta Jeffrey D. Cirillo Stephen Boorjian Peter C. Black Joshua J. Meeks Trinity J. Bivalacqua Paolo Gontero Gary D. Steinberg David McConkey Marko Babjuk J. Alfred Witjes Ashish M. Kamat Source Type: research