Product of Staphylococcus aureus responsible for the scalded-skin syndrome.

Certain Staphylococcus aureus strains of phage group 2 produced a protein distinct from the alpha and delta toxins which was capable of causing generalized exfoliation in neonatal mice and presumably is responsible for the scalded-skin syndrome in humans. This protein, named "exfoliatin," was purified and found to have a molecular weight of approximately 24,000. Exfoliatin was acid-labile, rather heat-stabile, and antigenic.