Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42851218›Full record

ReviewThe Indian journal of medical research2026

Epigenetic reprogramming by BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) vaccination: A novel strategy to reverse immunodeficiency in chronic kidney disease.

Rohit Sharma, Krishna Tiwari, Muhammad Aaqib Shamim, Surjit Singh, Pradeep Dwivedi, Rajesh Jhorawat, Shoban Babu Varthya

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in The Indian journal of medical research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Rohit SharmaDepartment of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Science, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
Krishna TiwariDepartment of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Science, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
Muhammad Aaqib ShamimDepartment of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Science, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
Surjit SinghDepartment of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Science, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
Pradeep DwivediDepartment of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Science, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
Rajesh JhorawatDepartment of Nephrology, All India Institute of Medical Science, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
Shoban Babu VarthyaDepartment of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Science, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with reflecting innate immune impairment. Chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, metabolic dysregulation, and prolonged uraemia are the primary causes of this condition. Monocytes, macrophages, and their progenitors may undergo drastic epigenetic changes in response to these systemic stresses. This has lowered the activation of histone marks, such as H3K4me3, and destabilised repressive marks, like H3K9me3. Critical immune response genes are silenced by chromatin closure. This epigenetic change exhausts the immune system and impairs its ability to clear pathogens. This causes 'uraemic immunodeficiency', a poor vaccination response, and increased susceptibility to infection. On the other hand, the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination may produce trained immunity, a favourable innate immunological memory. BCG stimulates the NOD2 and Akt/mTOR pathways. This increases H3K4me3 near cytokine gene promoters and stabilises H3K9me3 in non-essential genomic areas. This progressive remodelling creates transcriptionally permissive chromatin that increases inflammatory reactivity. This increases the phagocytosis and antimicrobial activity of monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils. BCG also reprogrammes hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells to create sustained myeloid cells. Comparing CKD-induced immunological paralysis to BCG-induced immune extension indicates that metabolic and environmental factors strongly influence the innate immune epigenome. BCG-induced trained immunity may represent a low-cost, host-directed strategy to reduce infection susceptibility and improve vaccine responsiveness in patients with CKD. This review shows that the BCG restores chromatin accessibility and transcriptional ability to treat CKD-induced immunological deficiencies. To restore immunological function in CKD patients, BCG-based therapies and epigenetic modulators should be studied.

Indexed as

BCG VaccineEpigenesis, GeneticRenal Insufficiency, ChronicHistonesHumansImmunity, InnateMacrophagesTrained ImmunityVaccinationBCG VaccineHistonesBCG vaccineChronic kidney disease (CKD)Epigenetic reprogrammingHistone modifications (H3K4me3, H3K9me3)Trained immunityUraemic immunodeficiency

Identifiers

PMID42851218
PMCPMC13650825

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.