Toxins 2014, 6(5), 1471-1489; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins6051471
Staphylococcal enterotoxins in the Etiopathogenesis of Mucosal Autoimmunity within the Gastrointestinal Tract
1
Division of Toxicology, Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, US Food and Drug Administration, 8301 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD 20708, USA
2
Commissioner's Fellowship Program, Division of Toxicology, Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, US Food and Drug Administration, 8301 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD 20708, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 18 December 2013 / Revised: 18 April 2014 / Accepted: 22 April 2014 / Published: 25 April 2014
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enterotoxins: Microbial Proteins and Host Cell Dysregulation)
Abstract
The staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) are the products of Staphylococcus aureus and are recognized as the causative agents of classical food poisoning in humans following the consumption of contaminated food. While illness evoked by ingestion of the SE or its producer organism in tainted food are often self-limited, our current understanding regarding the evolution of S. aureus provokes the utmost concern. The organism and its associated toxins, has been implicated in a wide variety of disease states including infections of the skin, heart, sinuses, inflammatory gastrointestinal disease, toxic shock, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The intricate relationship between the various subsets of immunocompetent T cells and accessory cells and the ingested material found within the gastrointestinal tract present daunting challenges to the maintenance of immunologic homeostasis. Dysregulation of the intricate balances within this environment has the potential for extreme consequences within the host, some of which are long-lived. The focus of this review is to evaluate the relevance of staphylococcal enterotoxin in the context of mucosal immunity, and the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal autoimmune disease. View Full-TextKeywords:
Staphylococcal enterotoxin B; superantigen; food poisoning; Treg; gut-associated lymphoid tissue; intestinal inflammation; Staphylococcus aureus
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MDPI and ACS Style
Principato, M.; Qian, B.-F. Staphylococcal enterotoxins in the Etiopathogenesis of Mucosal Autoimmunity within the Gastrointestinal Tract. Toxins 2014, 6, 1471-1489.