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Staphylococcal enterotoxins A and B share a common structural motif for binding class II major histocompatibility complex molecules

Nature Structural Biology volume 2, pages 554–560 (1995)Cite this article

Abstract

A comparative site-directed mutagenesis study of staphylococcal enterotoxins A and B was undertaken to identify key amino-acid residues which govern interactions with major histocompatibility class II molecules. This involved generating a three-dimensional homology model for enterotoxin A in complex with the HLA-DR1 molecule, based on the reported X-ray crystal structures of enterotoxin B, both free and bound to HLA-DR1. A binding motif previously described for enterotoxin B was found to be conserved in enterotoxin A. An examination of the experimental data with the homology model clarifies how T-cell responses to enterotoxin A, and most bacterial superantigens, are likely to be mediated by variations of a structurally conserved HLA-DRα binding motif.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Immunology and Molecular Biology, Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Bldg. 1425-FCRDC, Frederick, Maryland, 21702, USA

    Robert G. Ulrich & Sina Bavari

  2. Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Bldg. 1425-FCRDC, Frederick, Maryland, 21702, USA

    Mark A. Olson

Authors
  1. Robert G. Ulrich
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  2. Sina Bavari
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  3. Mark A. Olson
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Ulrich, R., Bavari, S. & Olson, M. Staphylococcal enterotoxins A and B share a common structural motif for binding class II major histocompatibility complex molecules. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2, 554–560 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsb0795-554

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