SEQUENCE OF THE TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME TOXIN GENE (TSTH) BORNE BY STRAINS OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS-AUREUS ISOLATED FROM PATIENTS WITH KAWASAKI SYNDROME

To explore whether a novel staphylococcal clone or structural variant of toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 is associated with Kawasaki syndrome, six toxigenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus from Kawasaki syndrome patients were studied. The strains were divisible into two groups base d on phenotypic and genotypic characteristics and are therefore unequi vocally not clonal. Portions of the tstH genes of each strain were seq uenced. Three were sequenced in their entirety, while the remainder we re sequenced from codon 66 to codon 137 of the mature protein only. Tw o of the former group differed slightly in the sequences of their sign al peptides relative to the sequence published for the tstH signal pep tide. Those differences did not affect toxin processing or secretion. The sequenced portions of the regions encoding mature toxic shock synd rome toxin 1 were identical in all six strains and corresponded exactl y to the published sequence of tstH. No evidence was found for the exi stence of a structural variant of tstH uniquely associated with Kawasa ki syndrome.