title: Induction of clonal anergy by oral administration of staphylococcal enterotoxin B.
abstract: The staphylococcal enterotoxin is a major cause of food poisoning. The bacterial substance stimulates T cells expressing specific V beta T cell receptors (TcR) and is termed "the superantigen". We have previously demonstrated that intravenous injection of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) induces functional unresponsiveness (anergy) of reactive T cells as well as a partial deletion by activation-induced programmed cell death. In the present study, we examined the effect of oral administration of SEB in mice. Our results indicate that spleen T cells from SEB-primed mice are hyporesponsive to SEB stimulation in vitro, but the response to SEA was normal. V beta 8+ T cells purified from SEB-primed mice did not respond to stimulation of TcR. This SEB-specific unresponsiveness could not be reversed by exogenous interleukin-2, but was partially reversed by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. Activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase during TcR-mediated stimulation was significantly inhibited in anergic T cells. Although the mechanisms of oral tolerance are not well understood, these results show that oral administration of SEB induce clonal anergy in peripheral T cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Medical Genetics, University of Toronto.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Migita
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ochi
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000276:immunology; D017635:Clonal Anergy / Q000276:immunology*; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000276:immunology*; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000276:immunology; D018089:Superantigens / Q000276:immunology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D017252:CD3 Complex; D004768:Enterotoxins; D007376:Interleukin-2; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D018089:Superantigens; D003208:Concanavalin A; C031818:enterotoxin B, staphylococcal; D011494:Protein Kinases