Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK.
The production of superantigenic exotoxins by Gram positive bacteria underlies the pathology of toxic shock syndrome. Future treatment strategies for superantigen-mediated diseases are likely to be directed at blocking the three-way interaction between superantigen, T cell receptor and major histocompatibility class II molecule, which inititates an excessive and disordered inflammatory response. In this article, we review the first published data to address one such strategy in the context of other recognised and experimental treatments.