Kawasaki disease
Kawasaki disease (mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome) is an acute, febrile, multisystem disease of children. It is characterized by unresponsiveness to antibiotics, nonsuppurative cervical adenitis, and changes in the skin and mucous membranes such as edema; congested conjunctivae; erythema of the oral cavity, lips, and palms; and desquamation of the skin of the fingertips. It is likely that immune-mediated injury to blood vessel endothelium is involved in the pathogenesis of this disease
A strong association has been reported between a novel form of S. aureus that releases toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 and Kawasaki disease, suggesting that this was the causative organism and was acting as a superantigen similar to the superantigen effect in toxic shock syndrome.
However, analysis of the T cell receptor repertoire of patients with Kawasaki disease has yielded conflicting data as to whether the T cell response is driven by a superantigen or by a conventional antigen.
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