Purification and analysis of the antigenicity of a 69,000 Da protein from Bordetella pertussis.

A purification scheme was devised for a 69-kDa outer membrane protein of Bordetella pertussis, a virulence-associated protein which may play a role in the pathogenesis of the organism. The protein was purified to apparent homogeneity by heating B. pertussis cells for 1 h at 60 degrees C followed by DEAE-Sepharose and Affi-Gel Blue chromatography. Antibodies found in sera obtained from patients diagnosed as having pertussis reacted with this protein. This purification scheme should be useful for the production of the 69 kDa protein which is currently being evaluated as a pertussis vaccine candidate.