Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Centre for Human Immunology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London ON, Canada.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2012 Apr 17;2:52. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2012.00052. eCollection 2012.
Superantigens (SAgs) are a family of potent immunostimulatory exotoxins known to be produced by only a few bacterial pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus. More than 20 distinct SAgs have been characterized from different S. aureus strains and at least 80% of clinical strains harbor at least one SAg gene, although most strains encode many. SAgs have been classically associated with food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome (TSS), for which these toxins are the causative agent. TSS is a potentially fatal disease whereby SAg-mediated activation of T cells results in overproduction of cytokines and results in systemic inflammation and shock. Numerous studies have also shown a possible role for SAgs in other diseases such as Kawasaki disease (KD), atopic dermatitis (AD), and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). There is also now a rich understanding of the mechanisms of action of SAgs, as well as their structures and function. However, we have yet to discover what purpose SAgs play in the life cycle of S. aureus, and why such a wide array of these toxins exists. This review will focus on recent developments within the SAg field in terms of the molecular biology of these toxins and their role in both colonization and disease.
超抗原（SAgs）是一类强效免疫刺激外毒素，已知仅由少数细菌病原体产生，包括金黄色葡萄球菌。从不同的金黄色葡萄球菌菌株中已经鉴定出 20 多种不同的 SAg，并且至少 80%的临床菌株至少携带一种 SAg 基因，尽管大多数菌株编码许多基因。SAgs 经典地与食物中毒和中毒性休克综合征（TSS）相关，这些毒素是这些疾病的病原体。TSS 是一种潜在致命的疾病，其中 SAg 介导的 T 细胞激活导致细胞因子过度产生，导致全身炎症和休克。许多研究还表明，SAgs 在其他疾病中可能具有作用，如川崎病（KD）、特应性皮炎（AD）和慢性鼻-鼻窦炎（CRS）。目前，人们对 SAg 的作用机制及其结构和功能也有了深入的了解。然而，我们还没有发现 SAg 在金黄色葡萄球菌的生命周期中扮演什么角色，以及为什么存在如此广泛的这些毒素。本综述将重点介绍 SAg 领域在这些毒素的分子生物学及其在定植和疾病中的作用方面的最新进展。
