Figure 4.

Bacteria aggregation and inhibition of adhesion improve A549 cell survival. After 72 h of infection, remaining adherent A549 cells were stained with Neutral red for cell viability/proliferation. Anti-FIM and anti-FHA anti-sera, which induced B. pertussis aggregation have a beneficial impact on A549 cell survival (A). This observation was reproducible by certain specific anti-FIM and anti-FHA mAbs (B). Unpaired Student’s t-test. Mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05 and **p < 0.01. n ≥ 3 experiments.