Advances in pertussis toxin detoxification

Pertussis toxin (PT) is one of the major virulence factors of Borrelia pertussis and also an essential component of pertussis vaccines. Before using it in vaccine production, detoxification is necessary because of its biological activity. This paper summarized the structure and detoxification process of PT as well as the safety and immunogenicity of pertussis vaccines prepared with detoxified PT. Key words: Pertussis toxin; Detoxification; Safety; Immunogenicity