Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0031350 (pharyngitis)
 2,405 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (strepTSS) has been associated with various streptococcal soft-tissue infections including cellulitis, necrotizing fasciitis, and peritonitis in adults. We describe a 40-year-old patient with pharyngitis and strepTSS. Throat swab cultures yielded a strain of Streptococcus pyogenes that produced large amounts of erythrogenic toxin A. Fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis of the patient's peripheral blood lymphocytes revealed generally enhanced expression of the T cell activity markers CD25 and human leukocyte antigen-DR and a marked increase in the number of gamma delta T cells, largely of the V delta 1-bearing subpopulation. Two more analyses, which were performed 2 weeks and 9 months later, respectively, documented the course of normalization after the acute episode of strepTSS. The T cells of this patient were stimulated in vitro with supernatants of his streptococcal isolate, and they proliferated in a dose-dependent manner. These proliferating T cells were mainly alpha beta T cells.
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PMID:Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome associated with marked gamma delta T cell expansion: case report. 883 97

Mouse models are invaluable resources for studying the pathogenesis and preclinical evaluation of therapeutics and vaccines against many human pathogens. Infections caused by group A streptococcus (GAS, Streptococcus pyogenes) are heterogeneous ranging from mild pharyngitis to severe invasive necrotizing fasciitis, a subgroup of necrotizing soft-tissue infections (NSTIs). While several strains of mice including BALB/c, C3H/HeN, CBA/J, and C57BL/10 offered significant insights, the human specificity and the interindividual variations on susceptibility or resistance to GAS infections limit their ability to mirror responses as seen in humans. In this chapter, we discuss the advanced recombinant inbred (ARI) BXD mouse model that mimics the genetic diversity as seen in humans and underpins the feasibility to map multiple genes (genetic loci) modulating GAS NSTI. GAS produces a myriad of virulence factors, including superantigens (SAg). Superantigens are potent immune toxins that activate T cells by cross-linking T cell receptors with human leukocyte antigen class-II (HLA-II) molecules expressed on antigen-presenting cells. This leads to a pro-inflammatory cytokine storm and the subsequent multiple organ damage and shock. Inbred mice are innately refractive to SAg-mediated responses. In this chapter, we discuss the versatility of the HLA-II transgenic mouse model that allowed the biological validation of known genetic associations to GAS NSTI. The combined utility of ARI-BXD and HLA-II mice as complementary approaches that offer clinically translatable insights into pathomechanisms driven by complex traits and host genetic context and novel means to evaluate the in vivo efficiency of therapies to improve outcomes of GAS NSTI are also discussed.
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PMID:Systems Genetics Approaches in Mouse Models of Group A Streptococcal Necrotizing Soft-Tissue Infections. 3307 68