Mitogenic activity of staphylococcal exfoliative toxin.

Exfoliative toxin from Staphylococcus aureus was mitogenic for murine spleen cells. It was primarily active on T lymphocytes but also significantly stimulated B cells from the spleens of nude mice. The mitogenicity was not affected by simple sugar or alpha-methylpyranosides. N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylgalactosamine inhibited its effect. Exfoliatin was as powerful a mitogen as the enterotoxins of S. aureus. Some significant differences between the mitogenic activity of the two toxins were demonstrated.