Action of Bordetella pertussis vaccine on mouse hematopoietic stem cells

: Intravenous inoculation of killed Bordetella pertussis vaccine into BALB/c, CBA, C57Bl/6 mice or (CBA x C57Bl/6) F2 hybrids 1 day or 3 days before sublethal irradiation (5.5 Gy) was shown to sharply increase the endogenous colony formation in the spleen 9 days after irradiation. Moreover, the CFUs content of the spleen and bone marrow was also enhanced 1 and 3 days after vaccination of the mice with 10(10) cells B. pertussis as revealed by the exocolonization technique (Till and McCulloch). Thus, a single injection of B. pertussis vaccine hastened the hematopoietic recovery after irradiation.