Superantigens (SAgs) are the most powerful T cell mitogens ever discovered.
Concentrations of less than 0· 1 pg/ml of a bacterial superantigen are sufficient to stimulate …

Publisher Summary This chapter provides evidence that indicates a potential role for
superantigens in the pathogenesis of several human diseases. The term “superantigen” was …

Superantigens are bacterial proteins that generate a powerful immune response by binding
to Major Histocompatibility Complex class II molecules on antigen-presenting cells and T …

In the face of the unique diversity and plasticity of the immune system pathogenic organisms
have developed multiple mechanisms in adaptation to their hosts, including the expression …

Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) of Staphylococcus aureus, and related superantigenic
toxins produced by myriad microbes, are potent stimulators of the immune system causing a …

The recent discovery of the mode of interaction between a group of microbial proteins known
as superantigens and the immune system has opened a wide area of investigation into the …

The exotoxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes are
prototype molecules for the larger family of superantigens (SAGs). This family now includes …

It has been 6 years since the novel concept of superantigen was proposed in 1989 in the
fields which cover immunology, microbiology and the study of infectious diseases (83) …

Normally, when a person's im mune system encounters a pro tein made by a virus or other
microbe, fewer than one in"'10,000 of the white blood cells known as T lym phocytes react …

Superantigens are highly potent immune stimulators with a unique ability to interact
simultaneously with MHC class II molecules and T cell receptors, forming a trimolecular …