Residues defining V beta specificity in staphylococcal enterotoxins

The three-dimensional structure of staphylococcal enterotoxin C2 has been determined at 2.7 A resolution by x-ray diffraction, while the structures of enterotoxins A and E have been modelled based on their sequence homology to other staphylococcal enterotoxins. The T-cell receptor-binding sites of staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) B and SEC2 are compared and the stereochemical interactions likely to be responsible for their differing V beta specificities are identified. A similar comparison is made between SEA and SEE.