Bordetella pertussis produces several adhesins:

• Filamentous hemagglutinin is an adhesin that allows the bacterium to adhere to galactose residues of the glycolipids on the membrane of ciliated epithelial cells of the respiratory tract.
• Pertussis toxin also functions as an adhesin. One subunit of the pertussis toxin remains bound to the bacterial cell wall while another subunit binds to the glycolipids on the membrane of ciliated epithelial cells of the respiratory tract.
• B. Pertussis also produces an adhesin called pertactin that further enables the bacterium to adhere to cells.

Illustration of Bordetella pertussis using Adhesins to Adhere to a Ciliated Epithelial Cell.jpg by Gary E. Kaiser, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology, The Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville Campus
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://cwoer.ccbcmd.edu/science/microbiology/index_gos.html.

Last updated:October, 2018
Please send comments and inquiries to Dr. Gary Kaiser