Kinetics of cellular and cytokine responses in a chimeric mouse model for the study of staphylococcal enterotoxin B pathogenesis.

Abstract The mechanisms by which superantigens, such as staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), contribute to microbial pathogenicity have been poorly defined. The study of such pathogenic processes has been hampered by the lack of an adequate animal model. We utilized a previously described murine chimeric model to determine the cytokines and cell populations that might be involved in SEB toxicity. In the absence of bone marrow transplantation (BMT), all total body irradiated (TBI) mice died, while all transplanted mice survived up to 6 months. Compared with non-TBI and non-BMT mice, chimeric mice had an increased percentage of CD11b (Mac-1)-positive splenocytes (17 vs. 59%, P P