title: Mutational analysis of superantigen activity responsible for the induction of skin erythema by streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin C.
abstract: Streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin C (SPEC), when injected intradermally, induces erythema in unsensitized rabbits. In the present study, we examined whether this erythema induction is due to the T-cell stimulatory activity of SPEC as a superantigen. Analysis by using single-residue mutant SPECs indicated that mutant SPECs Y15I, A16E, and Y17I, in which tyrosine 15, alanine 16, and tyrosine 17 were replaced with isoleucine, glutamic acid, and isoleucine, respectively, exhibited significantly reduced mitogenic activity for Vbeta2(+) human T cells in vitro, and Y15I showed as much as a 1, 000-fold reduction. Y15I mutant SPEC, however, retained the ability to bind to major histocompatibility complex class II antigen and to form a homodimer, implying that residue 15 is critically important for the interaction of SPEC with T-cell antigen receptor beta chains. When injected intradermally into normal rabbits, wild-type SPEC induced a characteristic erythema after 3 h in a dose-dependent fashion, which was associated with polymorphonuclear and mononuclear cell infiltration. This erythema formation was found to be severely suppressed by systemic pretreatment with cyclosporin A, suggesting the involvement of host T cells. Y15I mutant SPEC exhibited nearly 1, 000-fold less erythema induction in vivo than wild-type SPEC. Altogether, the present results strongly suggest that erythema induction in rabbits by SPEC is attributable mostly to its T-cell stimulatory activity as a superantigen.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yamaoka
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Imamura
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Minato
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D019281:Dimerization; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004890:Erythema / Q000276:immunology*; D005098:Exotoxins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000276:immunology; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008934:Mitogens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011749:Pyrogens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D011817:Rabbits; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D018089:Superantigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D005098:Exotoxins; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008934:Mitogens; D011749:Pyrogens; C117980:SpeA protein, Streptococcus pyogenes; D018089:Superantigens; C027951:erythrogenic toxin; D016572:Cyclosporine