Human scFvs That Counteract Bioactivities of Staphylococcus aureus TSST-1

Some Staphylococcus aureus isolates produced toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) which is a pyrogenic toxin superantigen (PTSAg). The toxin activates a large fraction of peripheral blood T lymphocytes causing the cells to proliferate and release massive amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines leading to a life-threatening multisystem disorder: toxic shock syndrome (TSS). PTSAg-mediated-T cell stimulation circumvents the conventional antigenic peptide presentation to T cell receptor (TCR) by the antigen-presenting cell (APC). Instead, intact PTSAg binds directly to MHC-II molecule outside peptide binding cleft and simultaneously cross-links TCR-Vβ region. Currently, there is neither specific TSS treatment nor drug that directly inactivates TSST-1. In this study, human single chain antibodies (HuscFvs) that bound to and neutralized bioactivities of the TSST-1 were generated using phage display technology. Three E. coli clones transfected with TSST-1-bound phages fished-out from the human scFv library using recombinant TSST-1 as bait expressed TSST-1-bound-HuscFvs that inhibited the TSST-1-mediated T cell activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expressions and productions.Computerized simulation, verified by mutations of the residues of HuscFv complementarity determining regions (CDRs),predicted to involve in target binding indicated that the HuscFvs formed interface contact with the toxin residues important for immunopathogenesis. The HuscFvs have high potential for future therapeutic application.