Preclinical studies of safety, immunogenicity and protective activity of attenuated Bordetella pertussis bacteria on the Macaca mulatta model

Introduction. An increasing incidence of pertussis among different groups of population and shortcomings of the existing preventive solutions pinpoint urgency of development of new safe vaccines suitable for immunization of infants and for booster immunization of adolescents and adults.The purpose of this study is evaluation of safety, immunogenicity and protective activity of the new constructed attenuated Bordetella pertussis bacteria 4MKS by infecting immunized Macaca mulatta monkeys intranasally with virulent bacteria of the pertussis pathogen.Materials and methods. Five adult, clinically healthy Macaca mulatta monkeys aged 3–4 years were used for immunization and experimental infection. The re-immunization was performed in 6 months. Three non-immunized animals of the same age were used as controls.Results. The intranasal single-dose inoculation and re-inoculation of attenuated B. pertussis bacteria did not cause any nasopharyngeal inflammation in the rhesus monkeys and any changes in the blood lab test values after the nonhuman primates had been infected with virulent bacteria. No elevation of total IgE was detected in blood serum of the Macaca mulatta monkeys after the single-dose and double-dose immunization. When the monkeys were intranasally immunized with attenuated and virulent B. pertussis bacteria, they developed a defensive reaction to re-infection, namely suppression of the bacterial growth, increased rates of elimination of bacteria from the animals’ nasopharynxes and development of a humoral immune response to the infection. The development of immunity against pertussis re-infection is accompanied by a pronounced booster effect.Discussion. The obtained results suggest common mechanisms of development both of post-vaccination immunity after intranasal vaccination of animals and infection-acquired immunity against pertussis. Both of them provide protection against re-infection with B. pertussis bacteria and prevent development of clinical symptoms of pertussis.