Coughing up a Cure for Whooping Cough with Pertussis Toxin

The CDC reported 32,971 cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, in 2014. This respiratory infection mainly affects unvaccinated infants and toddlers, and symptoms include paroxysmal coughing with whooping, vomiting, and pulmonary complications which can lead to death. Pertussis toxin (PT), produced by the pathogenic bacteria Bordetella pertussis, causes whooping cough by ADP-ribosylating the Gi protein that inactivates adenylyl cyclase. The inactive ADP-ribosylated Gi protein is unable to interact with G protein-coupled receptors, leading to an increased intracellular concentration of cAMP. Increased concentrations of cAMP can interfere with normal cell signaling, disrupting specific cellular functions. PT is a critical virulence factor for B. pertussis that also has potential to create human immunity against pertussis. The Cedarburg SMART Team (Students Modeling A Research Topic) modeled PT using 3-D printing technology to study structure-function relationships. PT contains a total of six subunits, four i...