Alpha-1 antitrypsin inhibits pertussis toxin.

Pertussis (whooping cough) is a vaccine-preventable but re-emerging, highly infectious respiratory disease caused by Bordetella pertussis. There are currently no effective treatments for pertussis, complicating care for nonvaccinated individuals, especially newborns. Disease manifestations are predominantly caused by pertussis toxin (PT), a pivotal virulence factor classified as an ADP-ribosylating AB-type protein toxin.

Age-dependent natural killer cell and interferon γ deficits contribute to severe pertussis in infant mice.

Many respiratory infections are selectively injurious to infants, yet the etiology of age-associated susceptibility is unknown. One such bacterial pathogen is Bordetella pertussis. In adult mice, innate interferon γ (IFN-γ) is produced by natural killer (NK) cells and restricts infection to the respiratory tract.

DNA-Dependent Interferon Induction and Lung Inflammation in Infection.

Pertussis, caused by , is a resurgent respiratory disease but the molecular mechanisms underlying pathogenesis are poorly understood. We recently showed the importance of type I and type III interferon (IFN) induction and signaling for the development of lung inflammation in -infected mouse models. Classically, these IFNs are induced by signaling through a variety of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) on host cells.