Pertussis toxin plays an early role in respiratory tract colonization by Bordetella pertussis

In this study, we sought to determine whether pertussis toxin (PT), an exotoxin virulence factor produced exclusively by Bordetella pertussis, is important for colonization of the respiratory tract by this pathogen by using a mouse intranasal infection model. By comparing a wild-type Tohama I strain to a mutant strain with an in-frame deletion of the ptx genes encoding PT (DeltaPT), we found that the lack of PT confers a significant peak (day 7) colonization defect (1 to 2 log(10) units) over a range of bacterial inoculum doses and that this defect was apparent within 1 to 2 days postinoculation. In mixed-strain infection experiments, the DeltaPT strain showed no competitive disadvantage versus the wild-type strain and colonized at higher levels than in the single-strain infection experiments. To test the hypothesis that soluble PT produced by the wild-type strain in mixed infections enhanced respiratory tract colonization by DeltaPT, we coadministered purified PT with the DeltaPT inoculum and found that colonization was increased to wild-type levels. This effect was not observed when PT was coadministered via a systemic route. Intranasal administration of purified PT up to 14 days prior to inoculation with DeltaPT significantly increased bacterial colonization, but PT administration 1 day after bacterial inoculation did not enhance colonization versus a phosphate-buffered saline control. Analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples from mice infected with either wild-type or DeltaPT strains at early times after infection revealed that neutrophil influx to the lungs 48 h postinfection was significantly greater in response to DeltaPT infection, implicating neutrophil chemotaxis as a possible target of PT activity promoting B. pertussis colonization of the respiratory tract.