Functional and Immunological Studies Revealed a Second Superantigen Toxin in Staphylococcal Enterotoxin C Producing Staphylococcus aureus Strains

Staphylococcus aureus is a human and animal pathogen as well as a commensal bacterium. It can be a causative agent of severe, life-threatening infections with high mortality, e.g., toxic shock syndrome, septic shock, and multi-organ failure. S. aureus strains secrete a number of toxins. Exotoxins/en...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Toxins 2022-08, Vol.14 (9), p.595
Main Authors: Roetzer, Andreas, Model, Nina, Laube, Jakob, Unterhumer, Yvonne, Haller, Guenter, Eibl, Martha M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibodies
Antigens
Cell activation
Clinical isolates
Contaminants
Cytokines
Exotoxins
Experiments
Food contamination & poisoning
Functional analysis
Genes
Genomic analysis
Immunology
Inflammation
Laboratories
Lymphocytes
Lymphocytes T
mitogenesis
neutralisation
Pathogenesis
Pneumonia
Proteins
Septic shock
Staphylococcal enterotoxin C
staphylococcal enterotoxins
Staphylococcus aureus
T cell receptors
Toxic shock syndrome
Toxins
Vaccines
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Summary:Staphylococcus aureus is a human and animal pathogen as well as a commensal bacterium. It can be a causative agent of severe, life-threatening infections with high mortality, e.g., toxic shock syndrome, septic shock, and multi-organ failure. S. aureus strains secrete a number of toxins. Exotoxins/enterotoxins are considered important in the pathogenesis of the above-mentioned conditions. Exotoxins, e.g., superantigen toxins, cause uncontrolled and polyclonal T cell activation and unregulated activation of inflammatory cytokines. Here we show the importance of genomic analysis of infectious strains in order to identify disease-causing exotoxins. Further, we show through functional analysis of superantigenic properties of staphylococcal exotoxins that even very small amounts of a putative superantigenic contaminant can have a significant mitogenic effect. The results show expression and production of two distinct staphylococcal exotoxins, SEC and SEL, in several strains from clinical isolates. Antibodies against both toxins are required to neutralise the superantigenic activity of staphylococcal supernatants and purified staphylococcal toxins.
ISSN:2072-6651
2072-6651
DOI:10.3390/toxins14090595