bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/395608; this version posted August 19, 2018. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. Streptococcal superantigen-induced expansion of human tonsil T cells leads to altered T follicular helper cell phenotype, B cell death, and reduced immunoglobulin release Frances J. Davies, Carl Olme, Nicola N. Lynskey, Claire E. Turner1, Shiranee Sriskandan*. Department of Medicine, Imperial College, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK *Author for correspondence
[email protected] 1Current affiliation Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, U.K. Keywords Superantigen Group A Streptococcus, Streptococcus pyogenes, TfH SPEA, scarlet fever toxin, erythrogenic toxin, tonsil, antibody Footnotes This work was presented in part at the 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, San Francisco, 2009; the 13th Annual British Infection Society Meeting.2010, London doi https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2010.09.009 and the XVIII Lancefield International Symposium on Streptococci and Streptococcal Diseases, Palermo, 2011 and doctoral thesis (2012, Imperial College) https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/handle/10044/1/9660 Funding This work was funded by the Medical Research Council (UK) through a Clinical Research Training Fellowship to FJD (G0601399). Acknowledgements The authors would like to extend their thanks to Mr Shula and his associated surgical team for participation in the ICHT Tissue Bank. FD and SS acknowledge the support of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) awarded to Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust and the NIHR BRC-supported ICHT Tissue Bank.