[Experimental models for studying the effects induced by staphylococcal toxins A and B on human keratinocytes in...

The toxic effects of the two serotypes of staphylococcal exotoxin: exfoliatin A (ETA) and B (ETB) on two experimental models: organotypic cultures of the skin and cellular cultures of the epidermis reconstructed "in vitro" have been studied. The results show that, in both cases, purified ETB (Fig. 4a, 6-6a, b, c) reproduces the characteristics of Lyell's Staphylococcal Syndrome that is the intraepidermal cleavage either between the granulosa and the spinous layers or at the granulosa layer of the epidermis. As the images of the LM and EM demonstrate, purified ETA behaves differently in the two experimental models; in fact, it produces the same effect as purified toxin B on the organotypic cultures (Fig. 3a, b), whereas it causes no alterations in the epithelial cultures reproduced "in vitro" (Fig. 5a, b).