Interactions between Staphylococcal Superantigens and Human T‐Cell Clones are Predominantly but not Exclusively Governed by their T‐Cell Receptor Vß Usage

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Abstract
Stapbylococcal exotoxins (SE) are potent mitogens for human and murine T cells. Extensive studies in mice bave demonstrated strict correlations between T‐cell responses to individual SE and TCR Vβ expression. Studies examining the TCR Vβ expression of SE‐activated buman peripheral blood T cells also suggest close correlations, whereas the data reported using human T‐cell clones (TCC) are conflicting. We bave determined tbe cDNA TCRB sequences of 52 different human TCC, expressing 35 different T‐cell receptor Vfi (TCRBV)‐encodcd sequences. The TCC were tested in proliferative assays using nine different SE. Most of these TCC express Vs wbicb have not been tested previously in studies examining interaction between TCC and SE. The SE stimulated a variable fractioti (1/48‐31/52) ofthe TCC. Tbe ability of a given SE to stimulate TCC in many cases correlated with Vβ expression, but several exceptions were found. With one possible exception, comparisons between deduced amino‐acid sequences within the ‘fourth hypervariable region’ of the TCR p chain and SE responsiveness did not reveal potential SE binding motifs. We conclude that the reactivity of T cells towards SE is governed mainly by their TCR Vβ expression. However, the authors results also suggest that the interaction between SE and human T cells may involve elements unidentified as yet which are in addition to the chain of the TCR.

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