Lung pathology and immediate hypersensitivity in a mouse model after vaccination with pertussis vaccines and challenge with Bordetella pertussis

While evaluating vaccine efficacy against clinical Bordetella pertussis isolates in mice, after challenge vaccinated mice showed increased lung pathology with eosinophilia, compared to challenged, non-vaccinated animals. This led us to study bacterial clearance, lung pathology, lung TNF-α expression, and parameters of immediate hypersensitivity (IH), being serum IgE levels, eosinophil numbers in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and ex vivo IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, and IFN-γ production by the bronchial lymph node cells. BALB/c mice received a combined Diphtheria (D), Tetanus (T), Poliomyelitis, and whole-cell Pertussis vaccine (WCV), a combined D, T, and three-component acellular Pertussis vaccine (ACV), aluminium hydroxide adjuvant, or PBS, 28 and 14 days before B. pertussis infection. Similarly treated non-infected mice were taken as a control. Infection induced pathology; this induction was stronger after (especially WCV) vaccination. WCV but not ACV vaccination induced TNF-α expression after challenge. After challenge, IH parameters were strongly increased by (especially ACV) vaccination. Vaccinated IL-4 KO mice showed similar clearance and pathology, in the absence of IgE and with reduced numbers of eosinophils. Vaccinated (Th1-deficient) T-bet KO mice showed reduced clearance and similar pathology. In summary, after challenge vaccination increased lung pathology, TNF-α expression (only WCV), and IH parameters. Th1 cells were critical for clearance.