• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.236-240
• /
• 2003

Human immune system acts to protect the host from infectious agents (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites) and from other noxious insults. However, immune diseases are sometimes caused by the impairment of immune system leading to abnormal immune response. Especially, autoimmune diseases are very diverse and often bring serious damage Although many active investigations to reveal the etiological mechanisms concerning the autoimmune diseases, it still remains unclear. After proposing a HERV (human endogenous retrovirus) as a candidate autoimmune gene in type I diabetes, it is newly attracting our attention for demonstrating that an endogenous human retroviral superantigen can be transactivated by interferon-$\alpha$ (IFN- $\alpha$) or Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. These might provide us with powerful clues to carry out further studies to overcome autoimmune diseases as the presentation of a relatively clear connection between endogenous superantigens and human diseases.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.70-76
• /
• 2001

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease characterized by a chronic inflammatory process, primarily involving the synovial membrane of peripheral j oints, where T cell activation is found. To address the superantigen stimulation in rheumatoid arthritis, T cell clonality and the expression of activation markers were analyzed. Methods: To detect TCRB V usage, inverse PCR and sequencing were done. Monoclonal antibodies were used for flow cytometric analysis of TCRBV8 or TCRBV5. As results, a restricted usage of TCRBV3 gene was detected in synovial lymphocytes from one rheumatoid arthritis patient. However, preferential usage for TCRB V8, which may be one indicator for stimulation by staphylococcal superantigen, was not obvious although general activation of T cells was found as high DR+ percentage in synovial T cells. These data show specific antigen rather than superantigen might involve the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.553-558
• /
• 1998

Using the previous established multiplex PCR (mPCR), the presence of six kinds of staphylococcal superantigen (SAg) genes was investigated for nineteen Staphylococcus aureus isolates from the commercialized meat sources. As a result, only one isolate from pork among 19 S aureus isolates (5.3%) was confirmed as a potential SAg producer and harbored sec gene. The results in this study suggest that meat may not be major contagion of staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) in Korea and that staphylococcal enterotoxin type C may be associated with the disease. Also, the mPCR method in this study can be a useful genotypic method which can overcome the typical disadvantages of conventional antibody-based methods due to antigenic homology, and furthur survey on food-borne S aureus isolates can provide the important epidemiological data for SFP in Korea.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
• /
• v.32 no.2 s.57
• /
• pp.93-97
• /
• 2006

Staphylococcus aureus is found on the skin of $78{\sim}100%$ of children and adults with atopic dermatitis (AD) but only on the skin of $2{\sim}25%$ of healthy subjects. It is known that S. aureus and their endotoxins as superantigen have important roles in the exacerbation and prolongation of AD. This study was carried out for the detection of S. aureus in the skin of AD, age, sex, outbreak age of AD, treatment duration, aggravation season, and the relation of ooze and S. aureus. Most patients (84%) with AD show colonization of the skin with S. aureus and there is a correlation between the degree of colonization and the serous exudate. It seems likely that the inhibition of S. aureus is associated with improvement in the skin of AD patients.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.107-123
• /
• 2008

It has now been well documented in a variety of models that T regulatory T cells (Treg cells) play a pivotal role in the maintenance of self-tolerance, T cell homeostasis, tumor, allergy, autoimmunity, allograft transplantation and control of microbial infection. Recently, Treg cell are isolated and can be expanded in vitro and in vivo, and their role is the subject of intensive investigation, particularly on the possible Treg cell therapy for various immune-mediated diseases. A growing body of evidence has demonstrated that Treg cells can prevent or even cure a wide range of diseases, including tumor, allergic and autoimmune diseases, transplant rejection, graft-versus-host disease. Currently, a large body of data in the literature has been emerging and provided evidence that clear understanding of Treg cell work will present definite opportunities for successful Treg cell immunotherapy for the treatment of a broad spectrum of diseases. In this Review, I briefly discuss the biology of Treg cells, and summarize efforts to exploit Treg cell therapy for autoimmune diseases. This article also explores recent observations on pharmaceutical agents that abrogate or enhance the function of Treg cells for manipulation of Treg cells for therapeutic purpose.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.22 no.7
• /
• pp.894-901
• /
• 2012

Based on their respective antitumor and thrombolytic activities, the superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin C2 (SEC2) and staphylokinase (Sak) were chosen for the construction of the novel chimeric proteins Sak-linker-SEC2 and SEC2-linker-Sak using a linker composed of nine Ala residues. Both chimeric proteins possessed nearly the same PBMC proliferation stimulating activity and antitumor activity as SEC2 and thrombolytic activity as Sak. Neither the SEC2 or Sak component of each chimeric protein affected the activity of the other component. The results presented in this study provide a possible strategy to prevent and cure tumor thrombus.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.438-442
• /
• 2005

Kawasaki disease is an acute febrile vasculitis that occurs predominantly in young children under 5-years-old. The patients present generally with a high spiking fever that is unresponsive to antibiotics and lasts for more than five days at least. Prolonged fever has been shown to be a risk factor in the development of coronary artery disease. It seems to be certain that infectious agents are associated with the pathogenesis of Kawasaki disease. The differential diagnosis of Kawasaki disease must rule out infectious diseases including scarlet fever, toxic shock syndrome, measles, and so on. This is very important for adequate treatment and prevention of cardiac complications of Kawasaki disease. We experienced a 25-month-old boy who had high fever and pneumonic consolidation in the right middle and lower lobe of the lung that was considered as mycoplasma pneumonia on admission and developed coronary artery aneurysmal dilatation during treatment with roxythromycin.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.273-278
• /
• 2012

Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), which is a bacterial superantigen produced by Staphylococcus aureus, is associated with serious diseases, including food poisoning and atopic dermatitis. This study was performed to produce about 30 kDa of recombinant SEB protein and to immunize in chickens to acquire the specific egg yolk antibody (IgY) against the recombinant SEB. Chickens were immunized with the recombinant SEB intramuscularly in the breast muscle by injection 3 times at intervals of two weeks. Serum- and egg yolk-antibody titers of hens against SEB were highest at 4 weeks after first immunization. In western blot, anti-recombinant SEB IgY was reacted immunospecifically against the recombinant SEB and commercialized SEB. These results suggested that the recombinant SEB antigen could be used as an immunogen to elicit antibody (IgY) against SEB and the anti-recombinant SEB IgY could neutralized staphylococcal enterotoxin B effectively.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
• /
• v.7 no.2_3
• /
• pp.161-166
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the cell proliferating and interleukin-2 producing activity of staphylococcal enterotoxin B by gamma-irradiation. Staphylococcal enterotoxin B was gamma-irradiated with the various doses of 0, 2, 20 and 50 kGy. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that gamma-irradiation caused the sharp decrease of the content of staphylococcal enterotoxin B and the effect was irradiating dose-dependent. Non-irradiated staphylococcal enterotoxin B increased the cell proliferation of splenocytes isolated from female Balb/c mouse, whereas 2 kGy-irradiated toxin significantly decreased the activity. 20 and 50 kGy-irradiated staphylococcal enterotoxin B was no effect. A similar effect on the interleukin-2 production of mouse splenocytes was observed with non-irradiated and irradiated staphylococcal enterotoxin B. It was considered to be due to the decrease of the antigenicity of staphylococcal enterotoxin B by gamma-irradiation. Therefore, these results suggest that gamma-irradiation can be effective for the decrease of the antigenicity of staphylococcal enterotoxin B as superantigen.

• The Korean journal of internal medicine
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.659-667
• /
• 2024

Background/Aims: Sensitization to staphylococcal superantigens (SAgs) could contribute to asthma severity. However, its relevance with eosinophilic phenotype has not yet been clarified. This study aimed to investigate associations between serum specific IgE levels to SAg and eosinophilic airway inflammation in adult asthmatics. Methods: The serum specific IgE levels to 3 SAgs, including staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) and B (SEB), and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) were measured by ImmunoCAP in 230 adult asthmatic patients and 50 healthy controls (HCs). Clinical characteristics and laboratory parameters, including serum total/free IgE, and 2 eosinophil-activation markers, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN), were analyzed according to blood eosinophil counts (BEC; 150 cells/µL) and serum specific IgE levels to 3 SAgs (0.35 kU/L). Results: Asthmatic patients showed higher serum specific IgE levels to 3 SAgs than HCs (p < 0.05 for all). The serum total/free IgE levels were significantly higher in asthmatics with positive IgE responses to 3 SAgs than those without (p < 0.05 for all). There were no significant differences in clinical parameters including age, asthma severity, comorbidities, or smoking according to IgE responses to 3 SAgs. Patients with positive IgE responses to SEB (not to SEA/TSST-1) had higher serum specific IgE levels to house dust mites and ECP/EDN as well as higher BEC with positive correlations between serum SEB-specific IgE levels and BEC/ECP/EDN (p < 0.05 for all). Conclusions: These findings suggest that serum SEB-specific IgE levels could contribute to eosinophil activation as well as IgE production in adult asthma.