The effects of purified components of Bordetella pertussis in the weight gain test for the toxicity testing of pertussis vaccines.

The effects of highly purified preparations of three Bordetella pertussis components--pertussis toxin (PT), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA)--were examined in the mouse weight gain test, a toxicity test for pertussis vaccine. When these components were administered alone, PT enhanced initial weight gains of the mice, LPS produced an initial weight loss and FHA had no detectable effect on the weights of the mice. However, testing the components in combinations revealed that the effect of PT and LPS together was not simply the sum of their individual effects. This combination generally produced lower weights than LPS alone, particularly in the later stages of the test.