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Infection and Immunity, March 1999, p. 1424-1431, Vol. 67, No. 3
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Human Bactericidal Antibodies to Bordetella pertussis

Alison A. Weiss,1,* Paula S. Mobberley,1 Rachel C. Fernandez,1,dagger and ChrisAnna M. Mink2

Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267-0524,1 and Saint Louis University, Center for Vaccine Development, St. Louis, Missouri 631102

Received 4 November 1998/Accepted 14 December 1998

The Bordetella pertussis BrkA protein protects against the bactericidal activity of complement and antibody; however, some individuals mount an immune response that overcomes this bacterial defense. To further characterize this process, the bactericidal activities of sera from 13 adults with different modes of exposure to B. pertussis (infected as adults, occupational exposure, immunized with an acellular vaccine, or no identified exposure) against a wild-type strain and a BrkA complement-sensitive mutant were evaluated. All of the sera killed the BrkA mutant, suggesting past exposure to B. pertussis or cross-reactive organisms. Several samples had no or minimal activity against the wild type. All of the sera collected from the infected and occupationally exposed individuals but not all of the sera from vaccinated individuals had bactericidal activity against the wild-type strain, suggesting that some types of exposure can induce an immune response that can overcome the BrkA resistance mechanism. Adsorbing serum with the wild-type strain removed the bactericidal antibodies; however, adsorbing the serum with a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) mutant or an avirulent (bvg mutant) strain did not always result in loss of bactericidal activity, suggesting that antibodies to either LPS or bvg-regulated proteins could be bactericidal. All the samples, including those that lacked bactericidal activity, contained antibodies that recognized the LPS of B. pertussis. Bactericidal activity correlated best with the presence of the immunoglobulin G3 (IgG3) antibodies to LPS, the IgG subtype that is most effective at fixing complement.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati, 531 Bethesda Ave., ML 524, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0524. Phone: (513) 558-2120. Fax: (513) 558-8474. E-mail: Alison.Weiss{at}uc.edu.

dagger Present address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z3.

Infection and Immunity, March 1999, p. 1424-1431, Vol. 67, No. 3
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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