Effects of adenylate cyclase toxin from Bordetella pertussis on human neutrophil interactions with Coccidioides immitis and Staphylococcus aureus

Bordetella pertussis extract that contained adenylate cyclase toxin produced large increases in human neutrophil cyclic AMP levels and inhibited their oxidative burst, as reflected by luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence and superoxide release. The adenylate cyclase toxin-containing extract blocked neutrophil-mediated inhibition of N-acetylglucosamine incorporation by arthroconidia of Coccidioides immitis in a dose-dependent fashion but had no effect on neutrophil phagocytosis of Candida glabrata and only a slight inhibitory effect on arthroconidial attachment. Neither purified pertussis toxin nor extracts from Bordetella mutants lacking the adenylate cyclase toxin affected neutrophil-mediated inhibition of arthroconidial N-acetylglucosamine incorporation. These studies indicate that adenylate cyclase toxin, alone or in concert with other B. pertussis-elaborated toxins, blocks neutrophil inhibition of arthroconidia, primarily by affecting neutrophil responses other than attachment of phagocytosis.