Lintges Maria, Arlt Sabine, Uciechowski Peter, Plümäkers Birgit, Reinert Ralf R, Al-Lahham Adnan, Lütticken Rudolf, Rink Lothar
Institute of Immunology, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Pauwelsstrasse 30, D-52074 Aachen, Germany.
Int J Med Microbiol. 2007 Oct;297(6):471-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmm.2007.03.015. Epub 2007 May 3.
Superantigens (SAgs) are very potent microbial toxins that are involved in severe diseases such as necrotizing fasciitis and toxic shock syndrome. There are currently 11 different SAgs that have been identified from Streptococcus pyogenes. In the present study, two sets of multiplex PCRs were developed for detection of these 11 SAg genes. The first group comprises spea1-3+5, spec, speg, spej, spek, and spel. The second group consists of spea1-4, speh, spei, spem, ssa, and smez. The presence of Streptococcus pyogenes SAg genes can be immediately identified using a real-time method with SYBR-Green, thus providing an excellent tool in clinical diagnostics. After testing more than 300 clinical isolates, we identified one strain without any SAg gene. This finding contrasts with previous reports describing SAg genes located on every Streptococcus pyogenes genome. This SAg gene-negative strain also did not show any mitogenic activity. It is hypothesized that clinical isolates from patients may overrepresent bacterial strains with pathogenic factors, such as SAgs.
超抗原（SAgs）是非常强效的微生物毒素，与诸如坏死性筋膜炎和中毒性休克综合征等严重疾病有关。目前已从化脓性链球菌中鉴定出11种不同的超抗原。在本研究中，开发了两组多重PCR用于检测这11种超抗原基因。第一组包括spea1 - 3 + 5、spec、speg、spej、spek和spel。第二组由spea1 - 4、speh、spei、spem、ssa和smez组成。使用SYBR - Green实时方法可立即鉴定化脓性链球菌超抗原基因的存在，从而为临床诊断提供了一个出色的工具。在检测了300多个临床分离株后，我们鉴定出一株没有任何超抗原基因的菌株。这一发现与之前描述每个化脓性链球菌基因组上都存在超抗原基因的报告形成对比。这株超抗原基因阴性菌株也未表现出任何促有丝分裂活性。据推测，来自患者的临床分离株可能过度代表了具有诸如超抗原等致病因素的细菌菌株。
