Streptococcus pyogenes toxin

Streptococcus pyogenes can be an extremely dangerous pathogen it produces a series of toxins, including an erythrogenic toxin which induces a characteristic red rash, and a family of toxins which destroy the formed elements of blood. 

Toxic shock syndrome is a very damaging, often fatal condition caused by toxins from Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes. First reported in children in 1978, it is manifested by high fever, erythroderma (a skin rash condition), and severe diarrhea.6 Patients may exhibit confusion, hypotension, and tachycardia, and they may go into shock with failure of several organs. Survivors often suffer from skin desquamation (flaky skin). 

Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus secrete a number of enterotoxins and pyrogenic exotoxins, respectively. These toxins are known as superantigens, since they simultaneously form complexes with the major histocompatibility class II (MHC-II) molecules and T-cell receptors (TCRs) enabling them to activate a number of T-cell lymphocytes. Thus, superantigens stimulate up to... 

Pinkney M, Kapur V, Smith J et al. (1995) Different forms of streptolysin O produced by Streptococcus pyogenes and by Escherichia coli expressing recombinant toxin cleavage by streptococcal cystein protease. In Infect Immun 63 2776-2779. 

Weeks OR, Ferretti JJ Nucleotide sequence of the type A streptococcal exotoxin (erythrogenic toxin) gene from Streptococcus pyogenes bacteriophage T12. Infect Immun 1986 52 144-150. 

Kamezawa Y, Nakahara T, Nakano S, Abe Y, Nozaki-Renard J, Isono T Streptococcal mitogenic exotoxin Z, a novel acidic superantigenic toxin produced by a T1 strain of Streptococcus pyogenes. Infect Immun 1997 65 3828-3833. 

YuCE, Ferretti JJ Molecular epidemiologic analysis of the type A streptococcal exotoxin (erythrogenic toxin) gene (speA) in clinical Streptococcus pyogenes strains. Infect Immun 1989 57 3715-3719. Hauser A, Stevens D, Kaplan E, Schlievert P Molecular analysis of pyrogenic exotoxins from Streptococcus pyogenes isolates associated with toxic shock-like syndrome. J Clin Microbiol 1991 29 1562-1567. 

Reichardt W, Muller-Alouf H, Alouf J, Kohler W Erythrogenic toxins A, B, and C occurrence of the genes and exotoxin formation from clinical Streptococcus pyogenes strains associated with streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome. FEMS Microbiol Lett 1992 79 313-322. 

Smoot LM, McCormick JK, Smoot JC, Hoe NP, Strickland I, Cole RL, Barbian KD, Earhart CA, Ohlendorf DH, Veasy LG, Hill HR, Leung DYM, Schlievert PM, Musser JM Characterization of two novel pyrogenic toxin superantigens made by an acute rheumatic fever clone of Streptococcus pyogenes associated with multiple disease outbreaks. Infect Immun 2002 70 7095-7104. 

Toxins that act directly on cell membranes, called cytolytic toxins, disturb and ultimately kill the target cells. Produced by many organisms (e.g., bacteria, fungi, plants, fish, and snakes), cytolytic toxins may cause damage in several ways. For example, streptolysin O (67,000 D), produced by the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes, causes pores to form in the target cell membranes. Affected cells are rapidly lysed because the cell membrane is much more permeable to ions such as Na+. Streptolysin O is believed to cause some of the damage in rheumatic fever. 

Hensler T, Koller M, Geofiroy C et al. Staphylococcus aureus toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 and Streptococcus pyogenes erythrogenic toxin A modulate inflammatory mediator release from human neutrophils. Infect Immun 1993 61 1055-1061. 

Scarlet fever (sometimes called scarlatina) Infection caused by Streptococcus pyogenes that produces an erythrogenic toxin. 

Nelson, K., Schlievert, P.M., Selander, R.K., and Musser, J.M. 1991. Characterization and clonal distribution of four alleles of the speA gene encoding pyrogenic exotoxin A (scarlet fever toxin) in Streptococcus pyogenes. J. Exp. Med. 174 1271 -1274. 

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