researchPublished 2005
Mechanisms underlying immunity to whooping cough
The accute, immunizing, human disease whooping cough can be caused by either of two closely-related bacteria: Bordetella pertussis and B. parapertussis.
It has been known for some time that people vaccinated against B. pertussis can still be infected with B. parapertussis. CIDD researchers have explored some of the immunological mechanisms underlying this this observation.
By investigating how B. parapertussis is cleared from the lower respiratory tract of mice, Dan Wolfe, Eric Harvill and Girish S. Kirimanjeswara (now at Albany Medical Center) found that both humoral and cellular responses are crucial in providing immunity to B. parapertussis.
They also confirmed that immunity against B. parapertussis appears to be mechanistically distinct from immunity against B. pertussis. For instance, serum antibody- mediated clearance of B. parapertussis does not require the receptors needed for antibody-mediated clearance of B. pertussis.
» Details of their findings are published in the October 2005 issue of Infection and Immunity.