Abstract
Publisher Summary This chapter describes the purification of Bordetella pertussis toxin. Pathogenic strains of Bordetella pertussis , the causative organism of whooping cough, produces four toxins: heat-labile toxin, endotoxin, tracheal cytotoxin, and pertussis toxin (PT). Pertussis toxin (also referred as histamine-sensitizing factor, lymphocytosis-promoting factor, islet-activating protein, and pertussigen) has many biological activities. The molecular basis of some of these activities (e.g., islet activation) is better understood than others (e.g., histamine sensitization). The toxin is found as both cell-free and cell-associated protein in growing cultures. Several in vitro and in vivo assays are employed for quantitation of PT. The Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell assay appears to be the most sensitive of all the assays for PT. One of the drawbacks of using an in vivo assay such as measuring lymphocytosis-promoting activity is the interference of en- dotoxin. Endotoxin may also interfere with the histamine-sensitizing, but the responses from endotoxin and PT can be distinguished from each other by following a time course of sensitization in mice.
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