HLA Allele Associations and V-Beta T-Lymphocyte Expansions in Patients With Psoriasis, Harboring Toxin-Producing Staphylococcus aureus

HLA alleles have been associated with psoriasis. Toxin-producing strains of Staphylococcus aureus behave as superantigens, and if present in patients, might play a role in the exacerbation of psoriatic lesions by activating certain V-beta (Vβ) T-lymphocyte subsets. Allele frequencies in 22 patients and 22 controls (alleles determined by DNA/SSP typing) were used to calculate a relative risk of 4.7 (P < .05) for HLA-Cw6. S aureus was isolated from the throat of 11 patients. Enterotoxins A and C were detected by agglutination in the culture filtrate of one isolate. The enterotoxin A and/or C genes were detected by PCR in 9 isolates, and transcripts were detected by RT-PCR in 7 of them. None of the isolates from controls harbored enterotoxin genes. Vβ expansions were detected by RT-PCR in all 22 patients. Low or no Vβ expansions were obtained in controls. The association of HLA-Cw6 with psoriasis in Lebanese concurs with that reported for other ethnic groups. Toxin-producing isolates that colonize patients might play a role in the exacerbation of psoriatic lesions.