Abstract
Bacterial superantigens are among the most lethal of toxins. These stable proteins bind directly to most major histocompatibility (MHC) class II molecules and stimulate virtually all T cells bearing particular domains in the variable portion of the β-chain of the αβ T cell receptor (TCR), without need for processing by antigen-presenting cells. The peptides are capable of protecting mice from the lethal effects of superantigen toxins as widely different as staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE) SEB and toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1), and they can rescue animals already deeply into toxic shock. The superantigen antagonist peptides described in this chapter protect or rescue mice from lethal shock in a molar excess of as low as 20 fold over the toxin, implying that they bind tightly to a cellular target that is critical for superantigen action. The antagonist peptides described in the chapter provide a new molecular tool for understanding the mechanism of excessive human immune response activation by superantigens that occurs during toxic shock and for the identification of a novel target ligand that may interact with this superantigen domain. Removal of two amino acids from the dodecamer motif led to a significant decline in antagonist activity; this truncation may affect conformational stability or appropriate folding onto this putative receptor and reduce its affinity for the target.
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