Purification and Activities of Pertussigen, a Substance From Bordetella Pertussis

Role of Pertussigen (Pertussis Toxin) on the Mouse Protective Activity of Vaccines Made from Bordetella Species

“…Among these are the stimulation of antibodies or other immune responses to surface antigens of B. pertussis; the increased permeability of capillaries due to interference with actions of epinephrine (22), and the stimulation of production of IgE antibodies (5,22,24) which are mainly responsible for the sensitization of mast cells to release vasoactive substances when exposed to the specific antigen.…”

“…These small doses of Ptx do not protect alone, nor do they stimulate the production of detectable antibodies to Ptx. When Ptx is detoxified, it does induce protection in mice to ic challenge at doses of 1,600 ng or higher (24), but in this case also some active toxin seems to be required.…”

“…It is assumed that the substance in B. pertussis cells responsible for these undesirable reactions is pertussigen [pertussis 341 J. J. MUNOZ M. G. PEACOCK toxin (Ptx)], but it is also believed that Ptx is needed to produce effective vaccines (32,33). In mice, Ptx induces a pronounced leukocytosis, increases susceptibility to histamine and other vasoactive amines, enhances production of antibodies to antigens given with it, promotes delayed type hypersensitivity and autoimmunity, increases production of the IgE class of immunoglobulins, and susceptibility to anaphylaxis (22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)46). Ptx is also lethal to mice in doses greater than 500 ng (23).…”

Comparison of Biological Activities of Bordetella pertussis Mutants Lacking the Ability to Produce Filamentous Hemagglutinin with Similar Activities of Other Smooth Strains

“…This was important because no agreement has been reached regarding the importance of FHA and pertussigen (leukocytosis-promoting factor [LPF] , histamine-sensitizing factor [HSF], and islet-activating protein [lAP]) as mouse-protective antigens when the challenge is done by the intracerebral (i.e.) route (12,13,18). The results of these comparisons are given in this note.…”

“…The Sakairi strain is a phase III strain according to Kasuga's nomenclature, which means that it has no detectable K agglutinogens, does not produce hemolysis on Bordet-Gengou (BG) agar, and the colonies on this medium are flat rather than the typical, dome-shaped, "pearly" appearing colonies produced by phase I and intermediate phase strains. The procedures for performing tests not given in the text are described in either (12) or (22).…”