Genome-wide gene expression analysis of Bordetella pertussis isolates associated with a resurgence in pertussis: elucidation of factors involved in the increased fitness of epidemic strains.

ABSTRACT: Bordetella pertussis (B. pertussis) is the causative agent of whooping cough, which is a highly contagious disease in the human respiratory tract. Despite vaccination since the 1950s, pertussis remains the most prevalent vaccine-preventable disease in developed countries. A recent resurgence pertussis is associated with the expansion of B. pertussis strains with a novel allele for the pertussis toxin (ptx) promoter ptxP3 in place of resident ptxP1 strains. The recent expansion of ptxP3 strains suggests that these strains carry mutations that have increased their fitness. Compared to the ptxP1 strains, ptxP3 strains produce more Ptx, which results in increased virulence and immune suppression. In this study, we investigated the contribution of gene expression changes of various genes on the

SUBMITTER: King AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3679012 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature