Late Multiple Organ Surge in Interferon-regulated Target Genes Characterizes Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B Lethality

Bacterial superantigens are virulence factors that cause toxic shock syndrome. Here, the genome-wide, temporal response of mice to lethal intranasal staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) was investigated in six tissues (PBMC, lung, spleen, kidney, heart, Liver).The earliest responses and largest number of affected genes occurred in tissues (PBMCs, spleen and lung) with the highest content of both T-cells and monocyte/macrophages, the direct cellular targets of SEB. In contrast, the response of liver, kidney and heart was delayed and involved fewer genes, but revealed a dominant genetic program that was seen in all 6 tissues. Many of the 85 uniquely annotated transcripts participating in this shared genomic response have not been previously linked to SEB. Global gene-expression changes measured serially across multiple organs identified new candidate mechanisms of SEB-induced death.

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Ferreyra GA, Elinoff JM, Demirkale CY, Starost MF, Buckley M, Munson PJ, Krakauer T, Danner RL