Determination of saccharide content in pneumococcal polysaccharides and conjugate vaccines by GC-MSD

A simple and sensitive gas chromatographic method was designed for quantitative analysis of Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular polysaccharides, activated polysaccharides, and polysaccharide conjugates. Pneumococcal serotypes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, and 23F polysaccharide or conjugate were subjected to methanolysis in 3N hydrochloric acid in methanol followed by re-N-acetylation and trimethylsilylation. Derivatized samples were chromatographed and detected using gas chromatography with mass selective detector. Gas chromatographic results were compared with colorimetric values with agreement of 92 to 123% over the range of all samples tested. Monosaccharides released during methanolysis included hexoses, uronic acids, 6-deoxy-hexoses, amino sugars, and alditols. Quantitative recovery of monosaccharides was achieved for all serotypes by the use of a single methanolysis, derivatization, and chromatography procedure. Response factors generated from authentic monosaccharide standards were used for quantitation of pneumococcal polysaccharides and conjugates with confirmation of peak assignments by retention time and mass spectral analysis. This method allows saccharide quantitation in multivalent pneumococcal vaccine intermediates and final drug products with low-level detection (10 pg) and peak purity.     

Sugar analysis of glycoproteins and glycolipids after methanolysis by high-performance liquid chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection

A procedure for the analysis of the monosaccharide composition of glycoproteins and glycolipids by methanolysis and high-performance liquid chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection is described. The advantage over previous methods is the analysis of underivatized methyl glycosides of all glycoconjugate monosaccharides including sialic acid and uronic acid in a single chromatographic step at the subnanomolar level.     

A novel strategy to generate biologically active neo-glycosaminoglycan conjugates

Heparin and heparan sulfate are structurally related polysaccharides with a variety of biological effects/functions. Most of these effects are due to interactions, of varying specificity, between the negatively charged polysaccharide chains and proteins. While such interactions generally involve a single saccharide domain of decasaccharide size or less, ternary complexes of two protein molecules binding to separate domains on a single polysaccharide chain are known to occur. To facilitate studies on domain organization and its importance for biological function a strategy was developed to chemically conjugate defined heparin oligomers in linear and chemoselective fashion. The procedure requires that the oligosaccharide to provide the reducing-terminal domain of the conjugate is generated by lyase degradation of a parent polysaccharide, whereas the nonreducing-terminal domain is obtained through deaminative cleavage with nitrous acid. The applicability of the method was demonstrated by constructing a conjugate composed of two heparin 12-mers, of which the reducing-terminal component contained the antithrombin-binding region, whereas the nonreducing-terminal domain did not. Contrary to any of the unconjugated oligomers, the product was found to efficiently promote the inactivation of thrombin by antithrombin.     

An extracellular microbial polysaccharide composed of 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose and 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucuronic acid: radiochemical and gas-chromatographic analysis of the products of methanolysis

When the polysaccharide from the black yeast NRRL Y-6272, composed of 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose (1) and 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucuronic acid (2), is hydrolyzed, extensive humin formation occurs by decomposition of component residues, especially the hexosaminuronic acid. Methanolysis avoids this decomposition by forming stable methyl glycosides amenable to quantitation by both radiochromatographic techniques and gas chromatography. Unlike hydrolysis, which results in incomplete depolymerization, refluxing methanol-HCl (M, 16–24 h) completely depolymerizes polysaccharide Y-6272 to the methyl glycosides of its component sugars. Use of ¹⁴C-methanol-HCl allows quantitation of 1 and 2 by counting the individual ¹⁴C-methyl glycosides after separation by paper chromatography. As the methyl glycosides derived from the hexosaminuronic acid in polysaccharide Y-6272 consist of both a methyl ester and a lactone, for quantitation it was necessary to convert these two glycoside forms into a common derivative of known ¹⁴C-methyl content by treatment with mild alkali. Methanolysis by using radioisotopes affords an extremely valuable method for detecting and quantitating amino sugars in polysaccharides; it is rapid and sensitive and it should be especially applicable for analyzing other polysaccharides and proteins that contain constituents labile to normal hydrolytic conditions.     

Characterization of 2,7-anhydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid in human wet cerumen

A molecular species of sialic acid was isolated in a free form from cerumen of the wet type, but not of the dry type, by an ion-exchange column chromatography and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. Structural analysis of this sialic acid was performed by gas-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry with chemical ionization (CI) and electron ionization (EI). In the CI mass spectra, the protonated molecular ion of the trimethylsilyl derivative was observed at m/z 580. and that of the methyl ester-trimethylsilyl derivative was at m/z 522. In the EI mass spectrum, the methyl ester-trimethylsilyl derivative gave characteristic ions at m/z 506, 462, 418, 416, 328, 316, 238, 228, 205, 186, and 173. This mass spectrum was identical with that of 2,7-anhydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid, which was reported by Lifely and Cottee (Carbohydr. Res. 107, 187-197, 1982) as the mass spectrum of a by-product prepared from N-acetylneuraminic acid by methanolysis. These results indicate that the compound in the wet cerumen is 2,7-anhydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid. Since this sialic acid species could not be detected in cerumens of the dry type, its formation in the wet type may be controlled by an autosomal dominant gene.     

Transglucosidation of methyl and ethyl D-glucofuranosides by alcoholysis

The acid catalyzed ethanolysis of methyl 5-O-methyl-alpha- and -beta-D-glucofuranoside and the analogous methanolysis of ethyl 5-O-methyl-alpha- and -beta-D-glucofuranoside have been investigated. For all four reactions, the primarily formed transglycosylation product was a single glycoside that had the opposite anomeric configuration to the starting material. This strongly indicates that a D-glucose methyl ethyl acetal is first formed and is then ring closed by a nucleophilic attack by HO-4, giving either the starting material or a transglycosylation product with the opposite anomeric configuration. Low percentages of the methyl ethyl acetals and of dimethyl acetals were also observed in the reaction product during the methanolysis reactions.     

鼠伤寒结合疫苗研制的初步探讨

通过对鼠伤寒沙门菌LH株的发酵培养,热酚水法提取脂多糖LPS,1%乙酸沸水浴水解90m in脱毒,Super-dex 200柱层析,收集第一峰为鼠伤寒O-SP抗原;然后用CDAP对O-SP活化、ADH衍生后,在EDAC的缩合作用下,结合到破伤风类毒素TT上,制备出鼠伤寒结合疫苗;用含2.5μg多糖鼠伤寒结合疫苗免疫小鼠,以2.5μgO-SP多糖生理盐水溶液以及生理盐水溶液为对照组,间隔14天,免疫三针;以LPS为包被抗原,用间接ELISA法测定血清中抗鼠伤寒LPS IgG抗体。鼠伤寒结合疫苗三针免疫后,小鼠血清抗鼠伤寒LPS IgG抗体效价达到1:80以上的比例为84.2%,而总的几何平均滴度(GMT)达到796;说明制备的鼠伤寒结合疫苗有良好的免疫原性,而且鼠伤寒结合疫苗在小鼠和豚鼠体内有良好的安全性。     

Controlled Photochemical Depolymerization of K5 Heparosan, a Bioengineered Heparin Precursor

Heparosan is a polysaccharide, which serves as the critical precursor in heparin biosynthesis and chemoenzymatic synthesis of bioengineered heparin. Because the molecular weight of microbial heparosan is considerably larger than heparin, the controlled depolymerization of microbial heparosan is necessary prior to its conversion to bioengineered heparin. We have previously reported that other acidic polysaccharides could be partially depolymerized with maintenance of their internal structure using a titanium dioxide-catalyzed photochemical reaction. This photolytic process is characterized by the generation of reactive oxygen species that oxidize individual saccharide residues within the polysaccharide chain. Using a similar approach, a microbial heparosan from Escherichia coli K5 of molecular weight >15,000 was depolymerized to a heparosan of molecular weight 8,000. The (1)H-NMR spectra obtained showed that the photolyzed heparosan maintained the same structure as the starting heparosan. The polysaccharide chains of the photochemically depolymerized heparosan were also characterized by electrospray ionization-Fourier-transform mass spectrometry. While the chain of K5 heparosan starting material contained primarily an even number of saccharide residues, as a result of coliphage K5 lyase processing, both odd and even chain numbers were detected in the photochemically-depolymerized heparosan. These results suggest that the photochemical depolymerization of heparosan was a random process that can take place at either the glucuronic acid or the N-acetylglucosamine residue within the heparosan polysaccharide.     

Synthesis of octa- and dodecamers of D-ribitol-1-phosphate and their protein conjugates

The bacterial cell-wall-associated teichoic acids contain predominantly D-ribitol residues interconnected by phosphodiester linkages. Because of their location, these antigens may be vaccine candidates as part of conjugate vaccines. Here, we describe the synthesis of extended oligomers of D-ribitol-1-phosphate linked to a spacer having an amino group at its terminus. The synthesis utilized a fully protected D-ribitol-phosphoramidite that was oligomerized in a stepwise fashion followed by deprotection. The free oligomers were connected to bovine serum albumin using oxime chemistry. Thus, the ribitol phosphate oligomers were converted into keto derivatives, and the albumin counterpart was decorated with aminooxy groups. Reaction of the functionalized saccharide and protein moieties afforded conjugates having up to 20 ribitol phosphate chains.     

Determination of ganglioside non-hydroxy fatty acid and long chain base by analysis of perbenzoylated derivatives

The non-hydroxy fatty acid and long chain base compositions from as little as 2.7 nmol of ganglioside were ascertained from perbenzoylated ganglioside derivatives. Non-hydroxy fatty acids were determined by mild alkaline methanolysis of the derivatives, followed by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) of the methyl esters. N-acyl and N-benzoyl "gangliosides" that were generated by the methanolysis were hydrolyzed by a standard procedure that utilized aqueous acetonitrile-HCl, followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) determination of the biphenylcarbonyl derivatives with ultraviolet (UV) detection at 280 nm. A critical aspect of this procedure is a modified workup for the isolation of the biphenylcarbonyl derivatives which eliminates by-products that otherwise interfere with their separation by HPLC, especially when high sensitivity is required.     

Determinant specificities of the groups B and C polysaccharides of Neisseria meningitidis

A meningococcal group B-specific horse antiserum contains at least two distinct populations of antibodies with specificities for determinants on the group B capsular polysaccharide antigen. These two populations were differentiated on the basis of the ability of only one of them to be absorbed from the antiserum by the structurally related colominic acid. The nature of the colominic acid-specific determinant was elucidated by a radioimmunoassay inhibition technique with the use of a series of linear alpha-(2----8)-linked oligomers of sialic acid as inhibitors. Colominic acid was labeled by prior removal of its N-acetyl groups, followed by their replacement with the use of [3H]acetic anhydride. The conformational nature of the determinant was proposed because of the unusually large size (10 sialic acid residues) of the oligomer required to function as an efficient inhibitor. The structure of the determinant responsible for the second population of group B-specific antibodies has not been determined, but it is obviously based on an as yet undefined conformational or structural feature peculiar to the group B meningococcal polysaccharide. In contrast to the colominic acid-specific group B determinant, the determinant responsible for the group C polysaccharide-specific rabbit antibodies proved to be more conventional. Inhibitory properties of the alpha-(2----9)-linked oligomers maximized with those containing four or five sialic acid residues, which is consistent with the approximate estimated maximal size of an antibody site.     

Rapid separation of oligomers of polysialic acid by high-performance liquid chromatography

A rapid procedure utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography was developed for the separation of homooligomers of sialic acid (N-acetylneuraminic acid). The method utilizes the anion exchanger Mono-Q HR 5/5 and can resolve sialyl oligomers with degrees of polymerization (DP) from 2 to 20 in 25 min. Previous methods required 1 to 9 days. Recoveries are quantitative and the method can be used either analytically to analyze the enzymatic digestion products of polysialic acid or semipreparatively to prepare sialyl oligomers of defined length. The method is potentially useful for analyzing other anionic oligosaccharides.     

Monohydroxylated poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) oligomers and its functionalized derivatives used as macroinitiators in the synthesis of degradable diblock copolyesters

The presence of a hydroxyl group at the end of poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) oligomers, noted PHO oligomers, is required to prepare diblock copolymers with improved properties by ring-opening polymerization of cyclic monomer as epsilon-caprolactone. Several chemical methods such as basic hydrolysis, acid-catalyzed reaction with APTS, and methanolysis were used to prepare well-defined low molar masses PHO oligomers. The methanolysis reaction was allowed to proceed for 10-60 min to produce PHO oligomers with Mn values ranging from 20,000 to 800 g mol-1 with low polydispersity index. Detailed analysis of the MALDI-TOF mass spectra of the obtained oligomers has revealed the presence of linear structures bearing methyl ester on one side and hydroxyl end group on the other side. The same procedure was applied to poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate-co-3-hydroxyundecenoate), PHOU, a poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) containing unsaturated units in its side chains. These oligomers were further used to initiate the polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone by varying the PHO (or PHOU) and PCL lengths. By copolymerization with epsilon-caprolactone, the properties of PHO or PHOU have been improved. The crystallinity of the obtained copolymers was modified by controlling the length of the two different blocks. The unsaturations in the side chains of the PHOU block were oxidized in acid carboxylic functions to obtain a novel artificial biopolyester. Moreover, degradation was followed to study the influence of carboxylic groups on the hydrolysis of the copolymers.     

Structures of gangliosides from bovine adrenal medulla.

Five gangliosides, accounting for over 95% of the total ganglioside fraction, were isolated from bovine adrenal medulla by preparative thin-layer chromatography and the carbohydrate structures determined by a combination of periodate oxidation and permethylation techniques. Partially methylated alditol acetates were generated from the neutral sugars of the fully methylated glycolipids and identified by gas-liquid chromatography. Substitution on N-acetylgalactosamine was determined by methanolysis of the permethylated ganglioside, acetylation of the products, and identification of the resulting substituted methyl glycosides by GLC. Periodate oxidation followed by borohydride reduction confirmed some of the linkages and demonstrated the absence of (2-8) linkages between sialic acid units. Mass spectrometry of the permethylated gangliosides gave information on sugar sequence at the nonreducing end.     

An oligosaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine against type III group B Streptococcus

We have developed an oligosaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine against type III group B Streptococcus. Purified group B streptococcal type III capsular polysaccharide was depolymerized by enzymatic digestion using endo-beta-galactosidase produced by Citrobacter freundii. Following enzymatic digestion, oligosaccharides were fractionated by gel filtration chromatography on Sephadex G-75. An oligosaccharide pool of average Mr = 14,500 (corresponding to 13.6 repeating units of the type III polysaccharide) was used for conjugation to tetanus toxoid. Tetanus toxoid was covalently coupled via a synthetic spacer molecule to the reducing end of the oligosaccharide by reductive amination. The oligosaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugate elicited type III-specific anticapsular antibodies (measured in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) in three out of three rabbits whereas the unconjugated native type III polysaccharide was nonimmunogenic. Antiserum from rabbits vaccinated with the oligosaccharide-protein conjugate protected mice against lethal challenge with live group B streptococci (16 out of 16 mice survived) and opsonized group B streptococci for phagocytosis in vitro. No protection was conferred by preimmune serum nor by serum from rabbits vaccinated with unconjugated native type III polysaccharide. An oligosaccharide-protein conjugate vaccine of this design may prove to be an effective immunogen for protection against group B streptococcal infection in humans. In addition, the approach to vaccine design utilized in these studies will facilitate further definition of the structural parameters that determine immune response to glycoconjugate vaccines.     

Selective phospholipid methanolysis catalyzed by a weakly acidic microbial polysaccharide, zooglan

Zooglan, a weakly acidic exopolysaccharide produced by Zoogloea ramigera 115, catalyzed the preferential methanolysis of phospatidylcholine compared to other phospholipids when the reaction was carried out in pure methanol at 30 °C. The reaction was monitored by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) as well as ¹H and ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry. Zooglan enhanced the rate of methanolysis of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) up to about 170-fold compared to controls such as DPPC alone, pyruvic acid, succinic acid and acetic acid. Furthermore, the methanolysis was different depending on the head groups of the phospholipids. Through this study, we have shown that zooglan can act as an environmentally benign catalytic polysaccharide for methanolysis in pure methanol solution.     

Simple and rapid technique for monitoring the quality of meningococcal polysaccharides by high performance size-exclusion chromatography

The molecular size of meningococcal polysaccharides is an important physico-chemical parameter which correlates with immunogenicity. This paper describes the experimental conditions for high-performance size-exclusion chromatography on a PL Aquagel-OH 60 column to follow changes in the size distribution and therefore in the distribution coefficient (K(D)) of the meningococcal polysaccharides of groups A, C, Y and W-135 used to formulate anti-Neisseria meningitidis vaccines. The experimental conditions were also found to be suitable for a rapid monitoring of the quality (no group A polysaccharide depolymerization) of the tetravalent meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine.     

Bordetella pertussis fimbriae are effective carrier proteins in Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C conjugate vaccines

Serogroup C meningococcal conjugate vaccines generally use diphtheria or tetanus toxoids as the protein carriers. The use of alternative carrier proteins may allow multivalent conjugate vaccines to be formulated into a single injection and circumvent potential problems of immune suppression in primed individuals. Bordetella pertussis fimbriae were assessed as carrier proteins for Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C polysaccharide. Fimbriae were conjugated to the polysaccharide using modifications of published methods and characterised by size exclusion chromatography; co-elution of protein and polysaccharide moieties confirmed conjugation. The conjugates elicited boostable IgG responses to fimbriae and serogroup C polysaccharide in mice, and IgG:IgM ratios indicated that the responses were thymus-dependent. High bactericidal antibody titres against a serogroup C strain of N. meningitidis were also observed. In a mouse infection model, the conjugate vaccine protected against lethal infection with N. meningitidis. Therefore, B. pertussis fimbriae are effective carrier proteins for meningococcal serogroup C polysaccharide and could produce a vaccine to protect against meningococcal disease and to augment protection against pertussis.     

Cleavage of the polysialosyl units of brain glycoproteins by a bacteriophage endosialidase. Involvement of a long oligosaccharide segment in molecular interactions of polysialic acid

Polysialosyl chains containing alpha 2-8-linked N-acetylneuraminic acid have been suggested to modulate the biological activity of a neural cell adhesion molecule. Polysialosyl glycopeptides isolated from developing brain were incubated with a bacteriophage containing endosialidase. Sialic acid oligomers up to 7 residues long were liberated both from the glycopeptides and colominic acid. The substrate specificity of the endosialidase was studied with sialic acid oligomers of different sizes prepared from colominic acid. It was found that the endosialidase required the simultaneous presence adjacent to the site of cleavage a minimum of 3 sialic acid residues on the distal side and a minimum of 5 sialic acid residues on the proximal (reducing end) side. From the fragments liberated by the enzyme the existence of polysialic acid chains up to at least 12 residues long in the glycopeptides were concluded. This was also supported by the interaction of the glycopeptides with a meningococcal group B polysaccharide antiserum, which was found to require 10 residues or more for binding. The results indicate that the brain polysialosyl glycopeptides contain a long polysialic acid segment, which is also specifically needed for certain molecular interactions. The implications of the findings for the biological properties of the neural cell adhesion molecule are discussed.     

Hydrolytic release, and identification by g.l.c.-m.s., of 3-deoxy-D-manno-2-octulosonic acid in the lipopolysaccharides isolated from bacteria of the Vibrionaceae

The identification of the peracetylated methyl glycosides of 3-deoxy-D-manno-2-octulosonic acid (KDO) methyl esters was achieved by g.l.c.-m.s. These peracetylated methyl glycoside methyl esters were obtained from fully acetylated lipopolysaccharides and core oligosaccharides of representative strains of the Vibrionaceae family by the following sequence of mild reactions: acetolysis, methanolysis, and acetylation. KDO was shown to be present in all of the lipopolysaccharides (LPS), a result in direct contrast to the generally accepted view of the absence of this compound in LPS from this family of bacteria.