Effects of Bordetella pertussis components on IgE and IgG1 responses

The effect of dermonecrotic toxin (DNT), fimbrial hemagglutinin (FHA), K-agglutinogen, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and pertussigen from Bordetella pertussis on the production of IgE and IgG1 antibodies to hen egg albumin (Ea) was investigated in C57BL/6 mice. The IgE antibody contents were determined by passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) in the skin of Lewis rats, while the IgG1 antibody contents were determined by PCA reactions on the skin of mice using sera that had been heated for 3 hr at 56 C to destroy the IgE antibodies. Among the B. pertussis components tested, pertussigen was the most effective adjuvant for increasing the IgE and IgG1 antibodies to Ea. LPS also moderately increased both types of antibodies, and FHA slightly increased the IgG1 titers. When LPS was given 5 days before Ea, it suppressed both IgE and IgG1 titers while FHA had only slight adjuvant action on both type of antibodies. When each of the components was tested for its ability to modify the adjuvant action of pertussigen, it was found that only DNT interfered significantly with the adjuvanticity of pertussigen when given on the day of immunization with Ea. When the components were given 5 days before Ea, DNT produced significant suppression of only the IgG1 response. LPS, FHA, and K-agglutinogen did not significantly affect the adjuvant action of pertussigen.