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Salmonella Typhimurium definitive phage type (DT) 104 produces a pertussis-like toxin (ArtAB-DT104), which catalyzes ADP-ribosylation of pertussis toxin sensitive G proteins. However, the prevalence of ArtAB and its toxicity have not been established. We report here that, in addition to DT104, S. Worthington, and S. bongori, produce ArtAB homologs, designated ArtAB-SW and ArtAB-Sb, respectively. We purified and characterized these ArtAB toxins, which comprise a 27-kDa A subunit (ArtA) and 13.8-kDa pentameric B subunits (ArtB). While the sequence of the A subunit, which is ADP-ribosyltransferase, is similar to the A subunit sequences of other ArtABs, the B subunit of ArtAB-Sb is divergent compared to the B subunit sequences of other ArtABs. Intraperitoneal injection of purified ArtABs was fatal in mice; the 50% lethal doses of ArtAB-DT104 and ArtAB-SW were lower than that of ArtAB-Sb, suggesting that ArtB plays an influential role in the toxicity of ArtABs. ArtABs catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of G proteins in RAW 264.7 murine macrophage-like cells, and increased intracellular cyclic AMP levels. ArtAB-DT104 and ArtAB-SW, but not ArtAB-Sb, stimulated insulin secretion in mice; however, unlike Ptx, ArtABs did not induce leukocytosis. This disparity in biological activity may be explained by differences in ADP-ribosylation of target G proteins.

Current regulations for acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines require that they are tested for the presence of residual or reversion-derived pertussis toxin (PTx) activity using the mouse histamine sensitisation test (HIST). Although a CHO cell clustering assay can be used by manufacturers to verify if sufficient inactivation of the substance has occurred in-process, this assay cannot be used at present for the final product due to the presence of aluminium adjuvants which interfere with mammalian cell cultures. Recently, 2 modified CHO cell clustering assays which accommodate for the adjuvant effects have been proposed as alternatives to the HIST. These modified assays eliminate the adjuvant-induced cytotoxicity either through dilution of the vaccine (called the Direct Method) or by introducing a porous barrier between the adjuvant and the cells (the Indirect Method). Transferability and suitability of these methods for testing of products present on the European market were investigated during a collaborative study organised by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM). Thirteen laboratories participated in this study which included 4 aP-containing vaccines spiked by addition of PTx. This study also assessed the transferability of a standardised CHO cell clustering assay protocol for use with non-adjuvanted PTx preparations. Results showed that the majority of laboratories were able to detect the PTx spike in all 4 vaccines at concentrations of 4 IU/mL or lower using the Indirect Method. This sensitivity is in the range of the theoretical sensitivity of the HIST. The Direct Method however did not show the expected results and would need additional development work.

Introduction: Whooping cough is still a significant disease with regular outbreaks despite the decades of mass vaccination and good immunization coverage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity of Bordetella pertussis toxicity testing among strains harbouring different alleles of the pertussis toxin promoter ptxP using hamster ovary cell line CHO (Hamster Ovary)., Methods: The study assessed the limits of detection of high and low Ptx levels producing strains using a reference preparation ofpertussis toxin and B. pertussis strains that increased toxicity in vitro has been previously correlated with ptxP3 allele presence., Results: The presence of the strong agglomerates on CHO cell line confirmed the higher toxicity of B. pertussis strains isolated in France. Preliminary toxicity study with use of selected strains of B. pertussis differing by ptxP1 and ptxP3 promdter alleles with respect to relevant reference preparation indicate lower toxicity of strains B. pertussis isolated in Poland., Conclusions: The toxicity measured on CHO line will be used to assess the virulence of all available B. pertussis strains isolated in Poland.

Introduction: Pertussis is an acute, highly contagious bacterial infection of respiratory system caused by Bordetella pertussis. Principally, disease affects young children, however, recently it is also reported in adolescents and adults. Symptoms of pertussis in adults are non-specific, i.e. dry, paroxysmal and protracted cough. Thus, it is rarely diagnosed in this group., Aim: This paper aimed at evaluating the usefulness of the laboratory methods in diagnosis of pertussis in adults based on a case presenting with dry, paroxysmal and chronic cough., Material and Methods: Sputum (collected on 25th January 2013) and paired serum samples (collected on 13th February and 19 April 2013) were tested. Pertussis diagnostics involved culture, in-house PCR, real-time PCR and ELISA., Results: Sputum culture, using commercial medium Bordetella Selective Medium by Oxoid did not reveal the presence of B. pertussis. Real-time PCR and PCR, however, confirmed the presence of insertion sequence IS481 and pertussis toxin promoter sequence ptx-Pr, markers indicative of B. pertussis infection. Serological testing revealed the high titres of IgA, IgG and IgM antibodies to B. pertussis in the first sample. In the second sample, collected 2 months following the first one, a significant decrease in IgA antibodies was reported., Conclusions: These data suggest a high usefulness of the laboratory methods in the diagnosis of pertussis in adults with chronic cough. Application of such methods ensures adequate diagnosis of disease, quick introduction of proper treatment and implementation of procedures preventing the spread of infection.

Background and Objective: Bacterial agglutination antibodies against Bordetella pertussis, Yamaguchi and Tohama strains, are frequently measured for serodiagnosis of pertussis infection in Japan. To determine the serological criteria, the comparative titres of bacterial agglutination antibody and anti-pertussis toxin (PT) antibody were evaluated., Methods: Antibody titres were analysed in 36 definitive (fourfold increase in agglutination antibody) and 137 presumptive (high titre of single-antibody) cases of B. pertussis infection among adolescents and adults, and in a control group of 318 healthy volunteers., Results: When a single Yamaguchi agglutinin titre of ≥ 1:1280 (> three SD above the geometric mean for the control group) was taken as diagnostic, the sensitivity and specificity at 4-5 weeks after onset of cough were 58% and 98%, respectively. Using this criterion, the clinical findings in presumptive cases were almost identical to those in definitive cases. When the two tests were compared using 318 control sera, there was no association between the Tohama agglutinin titre and the anti-PT antibody titre, whereas a weak association between the Yamaguchi agglutinin titre and the anti-PT antibody titre was observed. When the numbers of pertussis cases with high antibody titres in the two tests were compared, 60% of cases with a Yamaguchi agglutinin titre of ≥1:1280 showed an anti-PT antibody titre of ≥100 EU/mL., Conclusions: These results indicate that the bacterial agglutination test is a method with low sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of B. pertussis infection. Therefore, to yield an accurate diagnosis, anti-PT antibody levels should be measured instead of bacterial agglutination antibody., (© 2011 The Authors. Respirology © 2011 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.)

The low recovery of pertussis toxin (PT) and the low resolving efficiency of chromatography, due to the instability of PT in low salt condition, are the main challenges for its purification. We aplied 2 mol/L urea to prevent the aggregation and disassociation of PT during the purification by ion-exchange chromatography (IEC) and gel filtration chromatography (GFC). The effect of urea on the purification of PT was studied by ELISA assay and non-reduced SDS-PAGE. The activity recoveries of PT and filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) in IEC and GFC, the resolution efficiency in GFC and the purities of PT and FHA were improved obviously by adding 2 mol/L urea in the mobile phase. The results highlight the potential application of urea in the acellular pertussis vaccine (APV) manufacture procedure.

Previous studies showed that pertussis toxin (PT) decreased agonist-induced contractions of isolated rat small mesenteric resistance arteries independently from endothelium, nitric oxide-synthase or intracellular calcium concentrations. In this study, it was investigated if the PT-induced decreased contractile properties of small mesenteric resistance arteries could be a consequence of a PT-induced vascular and/or smooth muscle cell injury, leading to loss of contractile functionality. Male Wistar rats were treated with PT (30 microg/kg, intravenously) and sections of isolated small mesenteric resistance arteries were investigated with light- and electron microscopy. Light microscopic investigation of cross-sectioned small mesenteric resistance arteries of control animals clearly showed a contracted phase, while PT-pretreated animals showed a relaxed smooth inner surface of the vessel, indicating a vasodilated state. Electron microscopic investigation showed that PT-pretreatment neither induced vascular lesions nor caused morphological or numerical changes in cell organelles such as contractile elements of vascular smooth muscle cells. In conclusion, the PT-induced decreased contractile properties of isolated rat small resistance arteries are not caused by a PT-induced vascular and/or smooth muscle cell injury.

Pertussis toxin (PT) and filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) were purified from culture supernatant of Bordetella pertussis Saadet and Tohama strains, using CM-Sepharose CL-6B cation-exchange chromatography. By the rapid purification method described here, both proteins were separately eluted from the same column in pure forms. The PT and FHA in the extract of culture supernatant were bounded to CM-Sepharose CL-6B cation-exchange column in 50 mM phosphate buffer containing 2 M urea (Buffer A), pH 6.0. Then the PT was eluted from the column with Buffer A (pH 7.4) and after elution of the PT, the FHA was eluted with 0.5 M NaCl in 50 mM phosphate buffer. Pertussis toxin and filamentous haemagglutinin purified by this procedure were electrophoretically and immunologically identical to the reference preparations.

The introduction of acellular pertussis vaccines has greatly enhanced the safety profile of vaccines to prevent whooping cough. Pertussis toxin (Ptx) is one component produced by Bordetella pertussis that is contained in all of these vaccines, either in combination with other known pertussis virulence factors or as the sole pertussis component, combined with tetanus and diphtheria toxoids. A hydrogen peroxide toxoid of Ptx has been shown to be efficacious in preventing pertussis infections in a mass vaccination trial and is presently licensed in the United States and Europe (B. Trollfors, J. Taranger, T. Lagergard, L. Lind, V. Sundh, G. Zackrisson, C. U. Lowe, W. Blackwelder, and J. B. Robbins, N. Engl. J. Med. 333:1045-1050, 1995). The industrial production of Ptx can be performed through the cultivation of B. pertussis in well-defined growth media, in which the components can be well characterized and their origins can be documented. Once the bacteria are removed from the culture, Ptx can be isolated from the supernatant and purified by using the technique described by Sekura et al. (R. D. Sekura, F. Fish, C. R. Manclark, B. Meade, and Y. L. Zhang, J. Biol. Chem. 258:14647-14651, 1983). The only drawback of this procedure, which combines two affinity chromatography steps, one with Blue Sepharose and a second with matrix-bound bovine fetuin (BF), is the source and purity of the BF. Concern about vaccine preparations that may possibly risk contamination by material associated with bovine spongioform encephalopathy has continued to increase. We thus sought a replacement for the BF affinity chromatography and, more specifically, for the glycosidic moiety on BF. We describe here the identification of a seven-amino-acid peptide that mimics the glycosidic moiety on BF to which Ptx binds. Furthermore, we have constructed an affinity column containing this peptide that can be used to replace BF in Ptx purification. Finally, we used the X-ray crystallographic structure of Ptx bound to the oligosaccharide moiety of BF as a scaffold and replaced the oligosaccharide with the peptide.

Pertussis toxin (PT) has both enhancing and inhibitory effects on experimental autoimmune disease, depending on its time of administration relative to immunization. The inhibitory effect is due to blocking of G(i)-coupled receptors by the enzymatic A subunit. In this study, we attribute the enhancing effect of PT to the cell-binding B subunit (PT-B). C57BL/6 mice, a strain that requires PT to develop experimental uveitis, were immunized with a retinal Ag and were injected with whole PT, PT-B, or vehicle. Disease and associated immunological responses were evaluated. The results showed that PT-B, determined to be free of biologically significant contamination with whole PT or with endotoxin, was able to mimic all the effects of PT with respect to disease induction, enhancement of delayed-type hypersensitivity, enhancement of lymphocyte proliferation, induction of an innate IL-12 response, and promotion of an adaptive IFN-gamma response to the uveitogenic Ag. Our results suggest that PT-B is largely responsible for the disease-enhancing properties of PT.

CHO cell clustering test failed to detect a reversion to PT toxicity of a commercial DTaP vaccine batch that failed to pass the test for reversion to histamine sensitizing (HS) activity. Efficacy of CHO cell clustering assay was, accordingly, evaluated using purified PT treated with graded concentrations of formaldehyde at 37 degrees C for 24h. The formaldehyde-treated PT was shown to lose CHO cell clustering activity to the level of 0.01% by the mild treatment while retaining 3.7-20.3% of HS activity which were far over the levels of commercial vaccines. When a reversion to toxicity of the aldehyde-detoxified PT was examined by incubating at 37 degrees C for three weeks, CHO cell clustering test again failed to detect the reversion to toxicity of the PT which showed a remarkable reversion to HS activity. These findings suggested that CHO cell clustering test might have an efficacy limitation in predicting in vivo activity of aldehyde-treated PT., (Copyright 2002 The International Association for Biologicals. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.)