Involvement of streptococcal mitogenic exotoxin Z in streptococcal toxic shock syndrome

Abstract

We report a nonfatal case of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) caused by a Streptococcus pyogenes emm118 strain encoding a novel variant of streptococcal mitogenic exotoxin Z (SMEZ-34). This variant was responsible for the major mitogenic activity in the cell culture supernatant. Patient sera showed seroconversion toward SMEZ, implying a role for this toxin in STSS. Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.