Cutaneous Exposure to the Superantigen Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B Elicits a T-Cell-Dependent Inflammatory Response

We analyzed the impact of superantigens secreted by skin-colonizing Staphylococci on the skin and the associated lymphoid tissue following epicutaneous application and intracutaneous injection of small amounts of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB). A single intracutaneous injection of 50ng of SEB elicited a strong inflammatory response in the skin of BALB/c mice. Three to 6h later, we observed Langerhans cell activation, mast cell degranulation, vasodilation, upregulation of ICAM-1, and induction of VCAM-1 on dermal blood vessels, with vascular adhesion of granulocytes. By 12 to 24 h, cell infiltration of the dermis increased, reaching the epidermis. Among the infiltrating leukocytes, a substantial number of eosinophils was found. After 48 h, the infiltrate was dominated by mononuclear cells. The response to SEB was dose-dependent, and signs of inflammation slowly disappeared over 5 to 7days. Although the induction of VCAM-1 on dermal blood vessels suggested a role for interleukin-1/tumor necrosis factor- α in this reaction, the activation of monocytes/macrophages was not able to substitute for lymphocytes, as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice (which are lymphocyte-deficient) did not mount an inflammatory skin response to intradermal injection of SEB. The fact that nude mice (T-cell-deficient) also did not mount an inflammatory response to SEB indicated the T-cell dependency of the response. The V β specificity of the SEB effect was demonstrated by the fact that SJL/J mice, which lack V β 8 + T cells (the major SEB-reactive T cell population in mice), exhibited much weaker responses. Deletion or tolerization of SEB-reactive V β T cells was not observed after a single intradermal injection of such minute amounts of SEB.