Staphylococcal enterotoxins

Int J Food Microbiol. 2000 Oct 1;61(1):1-10. doi: 10.1016/s0168-1605(00)00377-9.

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen that produces a wide array of toxins, thus causing various types of disease symptoms. Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs), a family of nine major serological types of heat stable enterotoxins, are a leading cause of gastroenteritis resulting from consumption of contaminated food. In addition, SEs are powerful superantigens that stimulate non-specific T-cell proliferation. SEs share close phylogenetic relationships, with similar structures and activities. Here we review the structure and function of each known enterotoxin.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Antigens, Bacterial / immunology
  • Enterotoxins / chemistry*
  • Enterotoxins / classification
  • Enterotoxins / isolation & purification
  • Food Contamination*
  • Gastroenteritis / microbiology
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Phylogeny
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Staphylococcal Food Poisoning / epidemiology
  • Staphylococcal Food Poisoning / etiology*
  • Staphylococcus aureus / genetics
  • Staphylococcus aureus / immunology
  • Staphylococcus aureus / pathogenicity*
  • Superantigens / immunology
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology

Substances

  • Antigens, Bacterial
  • Enterotoxins
  • Superantigens