Adaptation of Bordetella pertussis to the Respiratory Tract

There is a lack of insight into the basic mechanisms by which Bordetella pertussis adapts to the local host environment during infection. We analysed B. pertussis gene expression in the upper and lower airways of mice and compared this to SO4-induced in vitro Bvg-regulated gene transcription. Approximately 30% of all genes were found to be differentially expressed between in vitro vs. in vivo conditions. This included several novel potential vaccine antigens that were exclusively expressed in vivo. Significant differences in expression profile and metabolic pathways were identified between the upper versus the lower airways, suggesting distinct antigenic profiles. We found high expression of several Bvg-repressed genes during infection and mouse vaccination experiments using purified protein fractions from both Bvg- and Bvg+ cultures demonstrated protection against intranasal B. pertussis challenge. This study provides novel insights into the in vivo adaptation of B. pertussis and may facilitate the improvement of pertussis vaccines.