Publisher Summary This chapter provides evidence that indicates a potential role for
superantigens in the pathogenesis of several human diseases. The term “superantigen” was
introduced to describe a group of microbial antigens that differ in several respects from
conventional protein or peptide antigens. The recognition of superantigens by T cell
receptors (TCR) appears to depend almost entirely on the variable domain of the TCR β
chain (Vβ) with little regard for the other diversity components. The chapter shows a …