Superantigen antagonist blocks Th1 cytokine gene induction and lethal shock

Bacterial superantigens trigger an excessive, Th1-cytokine response leading to toxic shock. We designed a peptide antagonist that inhibits SEB-induced expression of human genes for IL-2, IFN-γ, and TNF-β, cytokines that mediate shock. The peptide antagonist shows homology to a β-strand-hinge-α-helix domain that is conserved structurally in superantigens produced by Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes yet remote from known binding sites for the major histocompatibility class II molecule and T-cell receptor. For Th1-cell activation, superantigens depend on this domain. The peptide protected mice against lethal challenge with SEB or SEA. Moreover, it rescued mice undergoing toxic shock. Surviving mice rapidly developed broad-spectrum, protective immunity, which rendered them resistant to further lethal challenges with different staphylococcal and streptococcal superantigens. Thus, the lethal effect of superantigens, mediated by Th1 cytokines, can be blocked with a peptide antagonist that inhibits their action at the top of the toxicity cascade, before activation of T cells takes place.