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Staphylococcal enterotoxin H induces V alpha-specific expansion of T cells.

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Author

  • Karin Lindkvist
  • Helen Pettersson
  • Niels Jörgen Skartved
  • Björn Walse
  • Göran Forsberg

Summary, in English

Staphylococcal enterotoxin H (SEH) is a bacterial superantigen secreted by Staphylococcus aureus. Superantigens are presented on the MHC class II and activate large amounts of T cells by cross-linking APC and T cells. In this study, RT-PCR was used to show that SEH stimulates human T cells via the V domain of TCR, in particular V10 (TRAV27), while no TCR V-specific expansion was seen. This is in sharp contrast to all other studied bacterial superantigens, which are highly specific for TCR V. It was further confirmed by flow cytometry that SEH stimulation does not alter the levels of certain TCR V. In a functional assay addressing cross-reactivity, V binding superantigens were found to form one group, whereas SEH has different properties that fit well with V reactivity. As SEH binds on top of MHC class II, an interaction between MHC and TCR upon SEH binding is not likely. This concludes that the specific expansion of TCR V is not due to contacts between MHC and TCR, instead we suggest that SEH directly interacts with the TCR V domain.

Publishing year

2003

Language

English

Pages

4148-4154

Publication/Series

Journal of Immunology

Volume

170

Issue

8

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

American Association of Immunologists

Topic

  • Immunology in the medical area

Status

Published

Research group

  • Medical Structural Biology

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1550-6606