title: Recombinant Staphylococcus aureus exfoliative toxins are not bacterial superantigens.
abstract: Staphylococcal scalded-skin syndrome is an exfoliative dermatitis characterized by the separation of the epidermis at the stratum granulosum. This disruption is mediated by one of two Staphylococcus aureus exotoxins, exfoliative toxins A and B (ETA and ETB). Both ETA and ETB have been reported to be bacterial superantigens. A controversy exists, however, as other data indicate that these exotoxins are not superantigens. Here we demonstrate that recombinant exfoliative toxins produced in Escherichia coli do not act as T-cell mitogens and thus are not bacterial superantigens. These data fit the clinical profile of the disease, which is not associated with the classic symptoms of a superantigen-mediated syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33101, USA.
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Plano
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Gutman
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Woischnik
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Collins
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005083:Exfoliatins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015870:Gene Expression; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013206:Staphylococcal Scalded Skin Syndrome / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus; D018089:Superantigens
chemical_list: D005083:Exfoliatins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D018089:Superantigens