Whooping Cough Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Whooping Cough, including details on symptoms, treatment, vaccines, causes, outbreaks.

Neonatal immunization with a single dose of recombinant BCG expressing subunit S1 from pertussis toxin induces complete protection against Bordetella pertussis intracerebral challenge.

Nascimento IP, Dias WO, Quintilio W, Christ AP, Moraes JF, Vancetto MD, Ribeiro-Dos-Santos G, Raw I, Leite LC

Centro de Biotecnologia, Instituto Butantan, Av. Vital Brasil 1500, 05503-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

The currently used pertussis vaccines are highly efficacious; however, neonates are susceptible to whooping cough up to the sixth month. In agreement, DTP-immunized neonate mice were not protected against intracerebral challenge with Bordetella pertussis. Neonate mice immunized with either DTP or a recombinant-BCG strain expressing the genetically detoxified S1 subunit of pertussis toxin do not show a humoral immune response against PT. On the other hand, rBCG-Pertussis induces higher PT-specific IFN-gamma production and an increase in both IFN-gamma(+) and TNF-alpha(+)-CD4(+)-T cells than the whole cell pertussis vaccine and confers protection against a lethal intracerebral challenge with B. pertussis.

Published 3 March 2008 in Microbes Infect, 10(2): 198-202.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Whooping Cough Research Today. All Rights Reserved.