In particular, a higher number of Gram-positive cocci (of the genera <i>Streptococcus</i> and <i>Staphylococcus</i>), <i>Eubacterium, Peptostreptococcus</i>, and HSP60-producing Gram-negative microbes have been found in the stools of KS children, and their effects on the antigenic repertoire of specific T cells and Vβ2 T cell expansion have been assessed.
We identified 13 strains of Gram-negative microbes from patients with KD; these microbes produced large amounts of hsp60 and induced pro-inflammatory cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
Because mycobacterial HSP65, a cognate of human HSP63, is a common immunogen in bacterial species, and because the major immunopathologic feature of KD is reportedly an abnormally activated immune system, it suggests that an increased level of HSP63 gene transcription may be associated with the pathogenesis of KD.