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Superantigens
1First Department of Medicine, University of Mainz, Germany.
The endogenous superantigens (the enigmatic minor lymphocyte-stimulating antigens) have been identified; they are encoded by integrated mouse mammary tumor viruses. The retroviral superantigens appear to be transmembrane glycoproteins, and their highly variable extracellular carboxyl terminus is responsible for V beta interaction. In spite of intensive efforts the precise structure-function relationship for the superantigens is not yet clear. The most important consequences of the introduction of the superantigens in vivo are shock and T-cell depletion and anergy. The search for novel superantigens related to human diseases has started.
The endogenous superantigens (the enigmatic minor lymphocyte-stimulating antigens) have been identified; they are encoded by integrated mouse mammary tumor viruses. The retroviral superantigens appear to be transmembrane glycoproteins, and their highly variable extracellular carboxyl terminus is responsible for V beta interaction. In spite of intensive efforts the precise structure-function relationship for the superantigens is not yet clear. The most important consequences of the introduction of the superantigens in vivo are shock and T-cell depletion and anergy. The search for novel superantigens related to human diseases has started.