Pertussis toxin promotes pulmonary hypertension in an infant mouse model of Bordetella pertussis infection.

Pertussis, caused by Bordetella pertussis, is a reemerging disease that can produce severe disease manifestations in infants, including pulmonary hypertension (PH). B. pertussis-induced PH is a major risk factor for infection-induced death, but the molecular mechanisms promoting PH are unknown and there is no effective treatment. We examined B. pertussis-induced PH in infant and adult mouse models of pertussis by Fulton index, right heart catheterization or Doppler echocardiogram. Our results demonstrate that B. pertussis-induced PH is age-related and dependent on the expression of pertussis toxin by the bacterium. Hence, pertussis toxin-targeting treatments may ameliorate PH and fatal infant infection.