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Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, March 2006, p. 341-348, Vol. 13, No. 3
1071-412X/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CVI.13.3.341-348.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Characterization of Serological Responses to Pertussis

Mineo Watanabe,^1, Beverly Connelly,² and Alison A. Weiss^1*

Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati,¹ Division of Infectious Disease, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio²

Received 13 October 2005/ Returned for modification 1 December 2005/ Accepted 15 December 2005

We have compared the use of five nonvaccine antigens to the use of conventional vaccine antigens, pertussis toxin (PT), and filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) for the serological diagnosis of pertussis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The nonvaccine antigens included the catalytic region of adenylate cyclase toxin (CatACT), the C-terminal region of FHA (C-FHA), lipooligosaccharide (LOS), the peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (PAL), and the BrkA protein. The serological responses of individuals with culture-confirmed pertussis were compared to those of adults with no recent history of a coughing disease. An immunoglobulin G (IgG) ELISA for PT was the most sensitive (92.2%) test for the serodiagnosis of pertussis. Of the nonvaccine antigens, ELISA for IgG responses to CatACT (sensitivity, 62.8%), C-FHA (sensitivity, 39.2%), and LOS IgA (sensitivity, 29.4%) were less sensitive but could also distinguish culture-positive individuals from control individuals. The use of a combination of multiple ELISA targets improved the sensitivity of the assay for serological diagnosis. Elevated IgG and IgA antibody titers persisted for more than a year in the individuals with culture-confirmed pertussis.

Present address: The Kitasato Institute, Research Center for Biologicals, 6-111 Arai, Kitamoto, Saitama 364-0026, Japan.