title: Potency testing of acellular pertussis vaccines.
abstract: The laboratory assessment of the potential of acellular pertussis vaccines to protect against human disease is a major problem. The mouse intracerebral challenge test, which is the accepted potency assay for whole cell pertussis vaccines, is not suitable for testing acellular vaccines, and more recently developed murine respiratory infection assays have methodological drawbacks and doubtful relevance to the human infection. We have found that the ability of several Bordetella pertussis antigens to protect mice against lung colonization correlates with their ability to raise murine antibodies which inhibit the adhesion of the bacteria to Vero cells. In this report we consider the applicability of such in vitro assays, and the in vivo assays, to the potency testing of acellular pertussis vaccines.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biologics, PHLS Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Funnell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000276:immunology; D001886:Bordetella pertussis / Q000276:immunology; D001921:Brain; D007267:Injections; D010567:Pertussis Vaccine / Q000276:immunology*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D014709:Vero Cells
chemical_list: D010567:Pertussis Vaccine