myelin-basic-protein and Whooping-Cough

Encephalitis/encephalopathy is a rare, but severe, complication of pertussis. Here, we report a case of an unimmunized 7-year-old boy with confirmed pertussis complicated by acute encephalitis/encephalopathy. Eighteen days after the onset of pertussis, generalized seizures began. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicated that marked demyelination without cytotoxic edema may have occurred to the patient. Notably, this is the first report to show precise MRI findings of pertussis-associated encephalitis/encephalopathy. Markedly increased myelin basic protein levels in the cerebrospinal fluid were consistent with the MRI findings. There was no evidence of direct invasion of the causative bacterium or its products into the central nervous system. The levels of interleukin-6 and -10 in the cerebrospinal fluid were higher than those in serum. Taken together, we conclude that indirect immune-mediated mechanisms may have contributed to the pathogenesis of the encephalitis/encephalopathy.

Topics: Child; Demyelinating Diseases; Encephalitis; Humans; Immunization; Interleukin-10; Interleukin-6; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Myelin Basic Protein; Neuroimaging; Whooping Cough

Pregnant rats challenged with Bordetela Pertussis vaccine, with or without encephalitogenic antigen during pregnancy, transferred a resistance to induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) to their offspring. Cross-fostering experiments showed that the protection against EAE is conferred during the lactation period through the transfer of anti pertussis antibodies in the milk. The degree of protection correlated with antibody levels. Passive transfer of these antibodies through intraperitoneal injection to naive adult rats also conferred the same degree of protection against EAE induction. It is suggested that such transfer of resistance and antibodies may serve as a model for the study of milk transmitted immunocompetent factors, as well as a model for the mechanisms involved in the resistance to EAE.

Topics: Aging; Animals; Antibodies, Bacterial; Antibody Specificity; Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental; Female; Immunity, Maternally-Acquired; Immunization, Passive; Immunoglobulins; Milk; Myelin Basic Protein; Pertussis Vaccine; Pregnancy; Rats; Whooping Cough