{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T19:11:08Z","timestamp":1787771468594,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,22]],"date-time":"2025-05-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1747872000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000865","name":"Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["OPP1120084"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["OPP1120084"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000865","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Both the quantity and quality of circulating anti-pertussis toxin antibodies are important for protection against severe pertussis. We compared the avidity of PT-IgG antibodies in pregnant women and their infants following vaccination during pregnancy with pertussis vaccines containing genetically-detoxified pertussis toxin (PT<jats:sub>gen<\/jats:sub>) or chemically-detoxified PT (PT<jats:sub>chem<\/jats:sub>).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>We analyzed serum samples collected earlier from pregnant women (at delivery) and their infants (at birth and 2 months of age) participating in a clinical trial where pregnant women had been vaccinated during pregnancy with recombinant acellular pertussis vaccine containing 1 \u00b5g PT<jats:sub>gen<\/jats:sub> (standalone, ap1<jats:sub>gen<\/jats:sub>, [n=37], or combined to tetanus and diphtheria, Tdap1<jats:sub>gen<\/jats:sub> [n=34]), 2 \u00b5g PT<jats:sub>gen<\/jats:sub> (Tdap2<jats:sub>gen<\/jats:sub>, n=35), or 5 \u00b5g PT<jats:sub>gen<\/jats:sub> (TdaP5<jats:sub>gen<\/jats:sub>, n=34), or acellular pertussis vaccine containing 8 \u00b5g PT<jats:sub>chem<\/jats:sub> (Tdap8<jats:sub>chem<\/jats:sub>, n=35). Avidity was assessed by adding increasing concentrations (0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 M) of NH<jats:sub>4<\/jats:sub>SCN as a bond-breaking agent and measuring PT-IgG levels by ELISA.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>Compared with Tdap8<jats:sub>chem<\/jats:sub>, TdaP5<jats:sub>gen<\/jats:sub> vaccination was associated with significantly higher total absolute avidity (p&amp;lt;0.001) and medium-high to very-high avidity PT-IgG levels (p\u22640.02) in mothers at delivery, infants at birth and infants at 2 months of age. Avidity was comparable to Tdap8<jats:sub>chem<\/jats:sub> after vaccination with the low-dose PT<jats:sub>gen<\/jats:sub> formulations (ap1<jats:sub>gen<\/jats:sub>, Tdap1<jats:sub>gen<\/jats:sub> or Tdap2<jats:sub>gen<\/jats:sub>). There were no differences for vaccination during the 2<jats:sup>nd<\/jats:sup> or 3<jats:sup>rd<\/jats:sup> trimester of pregnancy.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Interpretation<\/jats:title><jats:p>Compared with chemically detoxified vaccines, vaccination during pregnancy with recombinant genetically detoxified acellular pertussis vaccine at lower PT concentration provides infants with at least similar or higher quality PT-IgG antibodies. Consequently, recombinant pertussis vaccines may offer comparable or better protection against pertussis.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2025.1569151","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,22]],"date-time":"2025-05-22T06:04:57Z","timestamp":1747893897000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Avidity of pertussis toxin antibodies following vaccination with genetically versus chemically detoxified pertussis toxin-containing vaccines during pregnancy"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Bahaa","family":"Abu-Raya","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Del Giudice","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anita H. 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