On the mechanism of the adjuvant effect of Bordetella pertussis vaccine

Pertussis vaccine accelerates rather than retards, of antigen from the circulation and enhances the secondary as well as the primary response. Pertussis vaccine alone has an anamnestic effect and is capable of causing the appearance of homocytotropic antibody which reacts with antigens to which the animal has previously made a primary response. The effects of pertussis and Freund's adjuvant are additive. Increased insulin levels are not necessary for the adjuvant effect as alloxan diabetic animals are quite capable of enhanced antibody response after pertussis vaccine. Beta adrenergic blocking drugs increase and adrenergic agonists reduce antibody response slightly. It is concluded that pertussis exerts its effect directly on the precursor of the antibody-forming cells by increasing their rate of cell division Impairment of beta adrenergic receptors may be the mechanism of the effect.