Clonal unresponsiveness results from an interaction between staphylococcal enterotoxin B and T cells expressing unexpected Vβ elements

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Abstract
The ability of staphylococcal toxins to stimulate large numbers of T cells has led to their designation as a superantigen. Previous studies have indicated that activation of T cells bearing particular Vβ elements may be responsible for the toxic effects of these bacterial products. However, the widespread expression of functionally similar proteins by unrelated bacterial species suggests the possibility that these products may represent a successful microbial strategy for subversion of the host antibacterial response. We have examined the effects of the staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) on T cell clones that express different Vβ elements. We note that SEB stimulates clones bearing previously defined Vβ elements to proliferate and to produce cytoklnes. In addition, we demonstrate that an interaction between SEB and the TCR of clones that express additional Vβ elements, Including Vβ2 and Vβ6, results in a sterile form of Immunologlcal activation. This activation phenotype is characterized by proliferation without detectable cytokine production and Is followed by profound immunologlcal unresponsiveness in vitro and in vivo. We propose that reduced levels of antibacterial responses resulting from this form of T cell unresponsiveness may account for the highly conserved expression of superantigens by diverse bacterial species.

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