TB vaccine immunogenicity: mechanistic insights, correlates of protection, and translational challenges in high-risk populations

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading infectious disease killers worldwide, and the development of effective vaccines is a global health priority. While BCG continues to be the only licensed TB vaccine, a new generation of candidates — including subunit vaccines, adjuvanted formulations, and novel delivery platforms — is advancing through preclinical and clinical pipelines. Despite this progress, a major bottleneck persists: the field lacks validated immune correlates and surrogates of protection that can reliably predict vaccine efficacy, particularly in high-risk populations such as people living with HIV and older adults.This Research Topic brings together mechanistic, translational, and clinical perspectives on TB vaccine immunogenicity. It aims to consolidate current understanding of the immune responses induced by preventative, post-exposure, and therapeutic TB vaccine candidates, and to accelerate the identification and validation of correlates of protection that can bridge animal models and human endpoints.We welcome submissions across the following themes:i) Mechanistic and systems-immunology studies of vaccine-induced responses, including myeloid and tissue-resident immunityii) Identification and validation of immune correlates and surrogates of protection from preclinical studies and clinical trialsiii) Comparative immunogenicity of preventative, post-exposure, and therapeutic TB vaccine candidates, including adjuvants and delivery platformsiv) Translational challenges in moving correlates from animal models of immune response to TB into human endpoints, especially in high-risk populations such as people living with HIV or older adultsv) Protective components of TB vaccines and the immune mechanisms they inducevi) Immune memory profiles during TB and vaccination, with a particular focus on elderly populations and therapeutic vaccine contextsWe welcome contributions in the form of original research, review, mini review, systematic review, clinical trial, perspective, brief research report, and opinion pieces as well as FAIR² data. Multidisciplinary studies integrating immunology, vaccinology, and clinical research are particularly encouraged.Studies not related to immunity (such as those focusing on anti-bacterial molecules) are out of scope for this Journal. Topic editors: Styliani Karanika, Bingdong Zhu Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83047/tb-vaccine-immunogenicity-mechanistic-insights-correlates-of-protection-and-translational-challenges-in-high-risk-populations