Irwin M J, Gascoigne N R
Department of Immunology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California.
J Leukoc Biol. 1993 Nov;54(5):495-503. doi: 10.1002/jlb.54.5.495.
Superantigens interact with the immune system by binding to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II proteins and activating T cells through the variable region of the T cell receptor beta-chain. Through this means they can cause massive proliferation and then death of a large proportion of T cells. Superantigens are produced by bacteria, mycoplasmas, retroviruses, and probably by other organisms. In some cases, the superantigen is crucial to the organism's life cycle. Mouse mammary tumor virus disseminates by activating T cells which stimulate the proliferation of B cells harboring the virus. In other cases, the superantigen may be responsible for the pathogenesis of the infection, such as in the case of Toxic Shock Syndrome. In this article, we review information on the diseases in which superantigens are involved, and the mechanisms by which the superantigens interact with T cell receptor and class II molecules.
超抗原通过与主要组织相容性复合体（MHC）II类蛋白结合，并通过T细胞受体β链的可变区激活T细胞，从而与免疫系统相互作用。通过这种方式，它们可导致大量T细胞增殖，随后导致很大比例的T细胞死亡。超抗原由细菌、支原体、逆转录病毒产生，可能也由其他生物体产生。在某些情况下，超抗原对生物体的生命周期至关重要。小鼠乳腺肿瘤病毒通过激活T细胞进行传播，这些T细胞会刺激携带该病毒B细胞的增殖。在其他情况下，超抗原可能是感染发病机制的原因，例如中毒性休克综合征。在本文中，我们综述了有关超抗原所涉及疾病的信息，以及超抗原与T细胞受体和II类分子相互作用的机制。
