Eect of the bacillus of Calmette-GueÂrin, Propionibacterium acnes and avridine as immunomodulators in antirabies vaccination of mice using the Fuenzalida-Palacios mouse brain vaccine J. Megid a, *, M.T.S. Perac ° olli b , P.R. Curi c , C.R. Zanetti d , W.H. Cabrera e , R. Vassao e , F.H. Ito f a Department of Veterinary Hygiene and Public Health, FMVZ, UNESP, P.O. Box 560, CEP 18618-000 Botucatu, SP, Brazil b Department of Immunology and Microbiology, IB, UNESP, P.O. Box 560, CEP 18618-000 Botucatu SP, Brazil c FMVZ, UNESP, P.O. Box 560, CEP 18618-000 Botucatu SP, Brazil d Pasteur Institute, Sao Paulo, Brazil e Butantan Institute, Sao Paulo, Brazil f Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, FMVZ-USP, Brazil Received 26 May 1998; received in revised form 27 October 1998; accepted 19 November 1998 Abstract Using the laboratory mice, Fuenzalida-Palacios mouse brain human rabies vaccine was administered in groups of animals previously inoculated with rabies virus and then submitted to treatments with the immunomodulators onco-BCG, avridine and Propionibacterium acnes. Humoral and cellular immune responses were evaluated through the macrophage inhibition factor (MIF), intra-pad inoculation (IPI) and serum neutralization (SN) tests and by the detection of g-interferon (IFN-g). The IPI test was not eective in detecting the response of delayed-type hypersensitivity, contrary to MIF, which showed the immune cellular response. Higher levels of IFN-g were observed in the groups of mice vaccinated and treated with avridine and P. acnes. Although immunomodulating activities have been detected, the use of adjuvants with the Fuenzalida-Palacios type vaccine in mice did not reveal any encouraging results. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Rabies; Vaccination; Immunomodulators; Mice; Immunity 1. Introduction In human rabies treatment, vaccination is usually practiced after the exposition to rabies virus, contrary to the majority of other vaccines [1]. For domestic ani- mals, vaccines currently used include many types since Pasteur's original ®xed virus nervous tissues origin (NTO) vaccine. They can be of three groups: modi®ed live virus vaccines, inactivated NTO vaccines and inac- tivated cell culture origin vaccines [2]. Inactivated cell culture vaccines nowadays are safer and contain chemical adjuvants, however, attenuated live vaccines and those used for humans usually do not contain such substances. The human diploid cell vaccine is cur- rently considered the gold standard, although other vaccines produce good immune responses and are well tolerated, regardless of the cell line used. In countries like Russia and China, vaccines of lower potency are manufactured by using adjuvants [3]. In Brazil and in many other countries in the world, the Fuenzalida and Palacios mouse NTO vaccine is still in use for vacci- nation of human beings [4, 5]. Immune responses induced by rabies vaccines including delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction [6], production of g-interferon (IFN-g) [7] and IL-2 [8] by T-helpers lymphocytes and T-cytotoxic response [9] Vaccine 17 (1999) 2446±2452 0264-410X/99/$20.00 # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S0264-410X(98)00465-4 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +55-14-821-2121; fax: +55-14-821- 2121; e-mail: jane@fmvz.unesp.br.