Toxin-Mediated Streptococcal and Staphylococcal Skin Diseases

Abstract

After several decades of seemingly decreasing virulence, streptococcal and staphylococcal infections have reemerged as a major source of morbidity and mortality. Although several factors account for the renewed virulence of streptococcus and staphylococcus, one element in the reemergence of these infections is their ability •to produce circulating toxins; which often lead to clinical disease. The majority of these toxins produce their clinical disease through functioning as superantigens. Superantigens differ from conventional peptide antigens in many aspects. First, the recognition of the superantigen depends on the variable domain of TCR with little regard to other components of TCR. Second, they don't need processing, third, they seem to interact with the conserved amino acids residues that-are on the outside of the peptide binding cleft of the MHC.