Extraction of Outer membrane Vesicles from Vaccinal Strain of Bordetella Pertussis as the First Step of a Vaccine Candidate Study Against Pertussis Infection

Background: Pertussis is still one of the major public health problems. The increase of the disease emerged in recent decades due to the replacement of the reactogenic whole cell vaccine with the safer acellular vaccine and the genetic diversity of the bacterium. As outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) obtained from Bordetella pertussis contains surface immunogenic antigen in its structure, it has an acceptable characteristic that could be considered as a good candidate for pertussis vaccine. Materials & Methods: Vaccinal strain BP134 strain of B. pertussis was cultured under standard conditions and OMVs were isolated by modifying the method without the use of ultracentrifuge. The isolated vesicles were examined by transmission electron microscopy and protein content was measured by the Bradford method. The expression of virulence factors was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and protein expression was confirmed by Western immunoblot. Pyrogenicity test and abnormal toxicity test were performed on extracted vesicles. Results: The morphology of the vesicles was confirmed in the range of 40 to 200 nm. The protein concentration of the extracted vesicles was determined as 600 μg. Expression analysis by SDS-PAGE and western blot confirmed the presence of virulence factors, pertussis toxin, filamentous hemagglutinin, and pertactin using monoclonal antibodies in OMVs of the vaccinal strain. Pyrogenicity test and abnormal toxicity test were negative. Conclusion: The proposed method is a simple and efficient method for isolation of the B. pertussis OMVs. The OMVs extracted from B. pertussis could be a candidate for a new generation of pertussis vaccine alone or in combination with adjuvants to design future acellular vaccines.