from Thomas A. Ficht and Allison C. Rice-Ficht writing in Brucella: Molecular Microbiology and Genomics:
Development of improved Brucella vaccines has focused on the identification of the genes that support intracellular survival and those encoding antigens capable of stimulating immune protection. Evaluation of live, attenuated vaccines and subunit vaccines expressed using numerous vector-based systems has provided two general results: i) vaccines providing little protection with elevated safety, and ii) vaccines exhibiting excellent protection that are of questionable safety. In order to address the limitations associated with Brucella vaccinology a fresh look at the interactions between host and pathogen may provide renewed insight. This chapter attempts to reconcile the varied results reported in the literature related to the host response to the invading pathogen and the mechanisms used by the organism to avoid both innate and adaptive immune responses. By reviewing and summarizing the current literature we expect to reveal focal points for new investigations and that inconsistencies limiting such development may be identified and dealt with constructively.
Further reading: Brucella: Molecular Microbiology and Genomics