Staphylococcal Enterotoxin-like X (SElX) is a unique superantigen with functional features of two major families of staphylococcal virulence factors.
Ries Langley, Yi Tian Ting, Fiona Clow, Paul Young, Fiona Radcliff, Jeong Min Choi, Richard Sequeira, Silva Holtfreter, Heather Baker, and John Fraser
Plos Pathogens, 2017 Sep 7;13(9):e1006549. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006549.
This collaborative research between investigators here in the School of Medical Sciences and at the School of Biological Sciences reveals unique functional and structural aspects of Staphylococcal toxin SElX. We have shown that this remarkable molecule shares properties of two major, functionally diverse, families of Staphylococcus aureus virulence factors – the superantigenic toxins and the superantigen-like SSL immune evasion molecules, so is likely to be the ancestral ‘missing link’ between these important families. Given that New Zealand has the highest rates of staphylococcal disease in the developed world and this pathogens ability to gain resistance to antibiotics, insights into virulence factors like SElX will be important for the development of vaccines and anti-virulence therapies to lessen the impact of Staphylococcal diseases.