Interferon-gamma levels in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of mice infected with Bordetella pertussis.

The adherence of Bordetella pertussis to respiratory cilia and its survival in neutrophils and macrophages is crucial to the pathogenesis of whooping cough. To investigate the role of endogenous interferon (IFN)-gamma in acute infection, levels of IFN-gamma in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid of mice infected intranasally with B. pertussis were determined. Since pertussis toxin is released during infection by B. pertussis either locally or systemically, serum levels of IFN-gamma in mice injected intravenously with pertussis toxin were also determined. A persistent and significant increase of IFN-gamma levels with concomitant peripheral blood lymphocytosis was observed after 5 and 10 days. The results of this study showed an early but transitory production of endogenous IFN-gamma in BAL fluid of mice infected with B. pertussis.