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. 1970 Jul;49(7):1405–1414. doi: 10.1172/JCI106358

The influence of the site of infection on the immune response to group A streptococci

Edward L Kaplan 1,2, Bascom F Anthony 1,2, S Stephen Chapman 1,2, Elia M Ayoub 1,2, Lewis W Wannamaker 1,2
PMCID: PMC322614  PMID: 5432372

Abstract

The immune response after streptococcal infection of the skin and of the upper respiratory tract (URT) was studied prospectively in a group of normal children, ages 3-6 yr. The children were examined and cultures for group A streptococci were obtained weekly from the throat, nose, and skin lesions (when present). Paired sera were collected at the beginning and end of the study, and the changes in antibody titers were measured for three different streptococcal antigens: streptolysin O, deoxyribonuclease B (DNAse B), and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotidase (NADase).

The findings suggest that in contrast to infection of the URT antibody response to streptolysin O is relatively feeble after streptococcal infection which is limited to the skin. The response to NADase is also poor after cutaneous infection. Antibody responses to DNAse B are generally good regardless of the site of the infection. These and other studies indicate that anti-DNAse B is the antibody of choice in studying streptococcal infection of the skin and its complications.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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