Thursday, June 6, 2019 Immune Cells Play Unexpected Role in Early Tuberculosis Infection Discovery May Provide a New Target for TB Drugs, Vaccines, NIH-Supported Research Suggests A class of immune cells called innate lymphoid cells mediates the body’s initial defense against tuberculosis (TB), according to a report published online in Nature. Boosting this response may provide a new approach to developing treatments and vaccines against TB, which causes more deaths worldwide than any other single infectious disease.