Study on the virulence and pathogenicity of Bordetella pertussis ptxP3 MT28 lineage

To better understand the prevalence, pathogenicity, and underlying mechanisms of Bordetella pertussis ptxP3 MR-MT28 lineage, we conducted an integrated analysis combining epidemiological surveillance with genomic, phenotypic, and in vitro and in vivo pathogenicity assessments. We systematically compared the MT28 lineage with historically circulating strains, including ptxP1 MR-MT195/104/55 clones and ptxP3 MS-MT27 clone, as well as PRN-deficient isolates form each clone.