A chimeric protein consisting of a divalent pertussis toxin (PT) S1 fragment linked to the cholera toxin (Ctx) A(2)B fragment was constructed. The chimera induced a mucosal immunoglobulin A (IgA) and a serum IgG immune response to PT and CtxB in BALB/c mice following intranasal immunization. The immune sera neutralized PT in vitro. In the mouse model of Bordetella pertussis respiratory infectio...

To evaluate the role of Bordetella pertussis infection, 96 otherwise healthy 7- to 17-year-old subjects who were suffering from a cough lasting from 2 to 8 weeks were prospectively recruited. At enrolment, a nasopharyngeal swab and an oral fluid sample were obtained to search for pertussis infection by the detection of B. pertussis DNA and/or an elevated titre of anti-pertussis toxin IgG. Evide...

Pertussis toxin (PT), a protein produced by Bordetella pertussis, was studied for its effect on lipolysis in isolated rat epididymal adipocytes. Exposure of adipocytes to pertussis toxin resulted in a significant increase in cyclic AMP levels and lipolysis after a lag of 1-2 hr. Both the maximal rate of lipolysis and the time lag (beyond 1 hr) were PT concentration-dependent. Heat treatment (95...

BACKGROUND Reprogramming adult human somatic cells to create human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cell colonies involves a dramatic morphological and organizational transition. These colonies are morphologically indistinguishable from those of pluripotent human embryonic stem (hES) cells. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are required in diverse developmental processes, but their role in plu...

Overexpression of the RNA polymerase alpha subunit in Bordetella pertussis reduces expression of the virulence factor pertussis toxin. Here we show that this reduction is at the level of transcription, is reversed by overexpression of the transcriptional activator BvgA, and is dependent on the C-terminal domain of alpha.

Preterm infants are most vulnerable to pertussis. Whether they might benefit from maternal immunization is unknown. Extending our previous results in term neonates, this observational study demonstrates that second- rather than third-trimester maternal vaccination results in higher birth anti-pertussis toxin titers in preterm neonates.

The B oligomer of pertussis toxin was purified from culture supernatants of Bordetella pertussis strains which do not secrete the S1 subunit. The purified B oligomer is devoid of toxicity for CHO cells and other in vivo properties of the toxin, such as leukocytosis and histamine sensitization, but it retains the abilities to agglutinate erythrocytes and to induce the proliferation of T lymphocy...