REPEATED ADMINISTRATION OF WHOLE-CELL AND ACELLULAR PERTUSSIS VACCINES AFFECTS HEMODYNAMICS AND AUTONOMIC RESPONSIVENESS

Rats were treated in a repetitive way one to four times with either pe rtussis toxin, combined Diphtheria-Tetanus-Poliomyelitis-Pertussis vac cine (DTP-IPV vaccine, which includes inactivated polio virus and whol e-cell pertussis), DT-IPV vaccine (lacking the whole-cell pertussis co mponent) or acellular pertussis (aP) vaccine or Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine. Baseline diastolic blood pressure, baseline heart rat e and adrenergic and cholinergic responses were evaluated 4 days after last treatment, Pertussis toxin decreased baseline diastolic blood pr essure (28-43%) and increased baseline heart rate (28-40%), Adrenergic and cholinergic response were inhibited by, 65-75% and 70-78%, Multip le treatments were grossly as effective as single treatment. Similar r esults were obtained with DTP-IPV, while DT-IPV did not affect any of the four responses measured. Acellular pertussis vaccine did not affec t baseline diastolic blood pressure, but significantly increased basel ine heart rate (14%) and inhibited the adrenergic (19-23%) and choline rgic response (39-50%). This indicates that the acellular vaccine test ed contains pharmacologically active pertussis toxin, As the effects M ere less pronounced compared to DTP-IPV it is concluded that acellular pertussis retains less residual toxicological effects than whole-cell pertussis vaccine and may therefore be a safer vaccine. The observed effects on haemodynamics and autonomic control seem to be specific for pertussis toxin and pertussis-related vaccines as Haemophilus influen zae type b vaccine is in this respect virtually inactive, (C) 1998 Els evier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.