Construct · 1 fields · 1 citations

superantigen: a standalone construct

One name. One construct. A landmark on the map.

● anchor · a standalone immunology construct Nearest construct by meaning·not indexed
superantigen1 CONSTRUCTSuperantigenWHITE ET AL. · Vβ

A single standalone construct; nearby constructs are located against it in the Collider. Tap a field for its definition, unit, and measures.

Immunology

A toxin that activates T cells en masse

A superantigen is a microbial protein, such as a staphylococcal enterotoxin, that activates T cells far more broadly than an ordinary antigen: instead of being processed into a peptide and read inside the antigen-binding groove, it clamps the outside of an MHC class II molecule to a whole family of T-cell receptor beta chains, so it stimulates a large fraction of all T cells at once regardless of their specificity. White and colleagues' 1989 The Vβ-specific superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin B: Stimulation of mature T cells and clonal deletion in neonatal mice showed this Vβ-targeted activation and the deletion it can cause. The massive, non-specific T-cell activation underlies toxic-shock and food-poisoning syndromes and is what sets a superantigen apart from a conventional antigen.[1]

Unit
The T-cell-receptor Vβ families a superantigen engages
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Characterised by the fraction of T cells activated and the Vβ segments they share

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Nearby constructs

restriction3 fields · 3 citationsjingle · one word, three constructsactivation4 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, four constructsbeing3 fields · 3 citationsjingle · one word, three constructs

References

  1. White, J., Herman, A., Pullen, A. M., Kubo, R., Kappler, J. W., & Marrack, P. (1989). The Vβ-specific superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin B: Stimulation of mature T cells and clonal deletion in neonatal mice. Cell, 56(1), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-8674(89)90980-x

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