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Title

The activity of purified Bordetella pertussis components in murine encephalopathy.

Author

Redhead K; Robinson A; Ashworth LA; Melville-Smith M

Address

Division of Bacteriology, National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, Hampstead, London, UK.

Source

J Biol Stand, 15: 4, 1987 Oct, 341-51

Abstract

A Murine encephalopathic syndrome can be induced by the administration of BSA and whole-cell pertussis vaccine. The present paper reports studies of the capacity of purified individual pertussis components to induce this effect. Pertussis toxin and endotoxin together with a highly immunogenic sensitizer protein were required to induce the effect. The strength of the antibody response to the sensitizer appeared to be more important than the H-2 type of the recipient in determining the susceptibility of different mouse strains. The relevance of this syndrome to the study of possible vaccine-induced encephalopathy in man is uncertain and requires further investigation.