Inhibitory effects of pertussis toxin on the cAMP generating system in human mononuclear leucocytes.

In a previous investigation of children infected with pertussis during the first week of paroxysmal stage, we found a 50-75% reduction of the isoprenaline (IPN)-induced cAMP response in peripheral MN leucocytes. In order to characterize these findings further, intact human MN leucocytes from healthy adults were treated with PT in vitro. Basal, as well as prostaglandin E1-stimulated cAMP levels were decreased by PT in a dose-dependent fashion over a range of 0.01 to 1000 ng ml-1 to about 65% of control levels. Stimulation of PT-pretreated cells (100 ng ml-1, 90 min, 37 degrees C) showed significantly reduced IPN and PGE1-induced cAMP accumulation, indicated by a depression and shift of the dose-response curves to the right. In contrast, cAMP generation was unchanged by forskolin, a diterpene that is believed to directly stimulate adenylyl cyclase. The anti-allergic drug ketotifen had no direct effects on basal, IPN or PGE1-induced cAMP responses; however the inhibitory actions of PT pretreatment on cAMP levels were diminished (basal and isoprenaline-stimulated) or reversed (PGE1-stimulated). To further locate the site of impaired cAMP responses, beta-adrenoceptor binding, as well as displacement characteristics of the receptor, were estimated by 125I-cyanopindolol binding to a plasma membrane fraction pretreated with or without PT. No differences in beta-adrenoceptor number or in the affinities of the binding sites could be detected. These data are in close agreement with the findings on MN leucocytes from pertussis-infected children and support the notion of PT-induced impaired signal transduction in the cAMP generating system in human MN leucocytes.