Immunochemical characteristics and serologic properties of lipopolysaccharides isolated from various Brucella species using various extraction methods

The results of the comparative analysis of LPS isolated by different methods of extraction from the cultures of several Brucella species differing in their virulence are presented. Purified LPS preparations have been obtained from Brucella virulent and vaccine strains by using such methods as water-phenol extraction, Boivin's method, mild alkaline hydrolysis of the antigen according to Boivin's procedure. The presence of certain relationship between the method used for the extraction of Brucella LPS to be compared and their chemical composition, immunological characteristics and serological activity has been established. As shown in this investigation, in the process of the preparation of a highly sensitive diagnosticum for the passive hemagglutination test the use of LPS obtained from Brucella virulent strains, but not from the vaccine strain, by the method of mild alkaline hydrolysis according to Boivin's procedure is expedient. The data presented in this work indicate that the soluble complex of lipid A obtained from Brucella LPS has been found to possess serological activity. The results of the study of the serological properties of lipid A indicate that the lipid component may also play a certain role in the manifestation of the serological activity of Brucella LPS.     

痢疾结合疫苗LPS制备条件的优化研究

通过对痢疾杆菌LPS提取过程中主要制备环节的优化和改进,确立最佳提取条件和纯化过程,并应用优化后的工艺路线分别制备八批次福氏2 a痢疾杆菌和宋内氏痢疾杆菌LPS;福氏2 a痢疾杆菌LPS批平均产量为1.633g,宋内氏痢疾杆菌LPS批产量平均为1.251g,批产量相对稳定,平均产量比优化改进前提高20%以上。LPS经过酸水解、柱层析纯化获得目标O-SP,福氏2 a痢疾杆菌和宋内氏痢疾杆菌O-SP的得率分别为20%和28%。检测结果证明,LPS和O-SP各项指标均符合规程(草案)相关要求。实验为今后痢疾结合疫苗大规模制备工艺的改进和提高打下了基础。     

The role of the structural parts of bacterial lipopolysaccharide in its direct immunosuppressive activity]

The direct immunosuppressive activity of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and their structural parts (O-chains, R-core, lipid A), obtained from Salmonella, Pseudomonas and Burkholderia, was studied. LPS preparations were extracted by the phenol-water method. Structural parts of LPS were obtained by acetic acid hydrolysis and gel filtration. The study demonstrated that all these preparations, when injected intraperitoneally into mice, did not affect the level of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to the test antigen in the animals. After redox treatment all LPS preparations became capable of suppressing DTH. After redox treatment such immunosuppressive activity could be observed in lipid A, while O-specific chains and R-core remained inactive. After phenol treatment immunosuppressive activity disappeared. Chemical groups capable of activation were likely to be located in lipid A or in lipid A-associated protein.     

Immunogenic complexes of the soluble surface antigens of Sh. sonnei]

The comparative study of the immunogenic properties of Sh. sonnei (phases I and II) soluble surface antigens obtained by the modified method of aqueous-saline extraction and Sh. sonnei (phase I) antigen obtained by Boivin's method was made with the use of the keratoconjunctival test in guinea pigs. The protective activity of a high molecular fraction obtained by the fractionation of phase I soluble surface antigens in Sepharose 4B was studied. Boivin's antigen, when used for immunization in optimum doses, was found to have pronounced protective properties, whereas phase II soluble surface antigens showed no protective activity. A high molecular fraction obtained from phase I soluble surface antigen was found to be the most immunogenic. Protective activity was largely connected with protein antigen. The question whether protein antigen was an independent protective antigen or whether it constituted a part of a complex which determined the protective activity of a high molecular fraction remained unsolved.     

Relations between the methods of isolating Brucella lipopolysaccharides and their effect on hemopoiesis in mice

The comparative study of the effect produced by different lipopolysaccharide (LPS) preparations obtained from B. melitensis virulent strain 565 and B. abortus vaccine strain 19-BA on hematopoiesis in mice was made. The LPS preparations were obtained (1) by Boivin's technique, (2) by Westphal's technique and (3) by mild alkaline hydrolysis of Bovin's active complex, this technique having been developed at the Brucellosis Laboratory of the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. All tests (the spleen endocolonization test, the hydroxyurea kill test, the determination of the content of splenic colony-forming units in the peripheral blood) showed that LPS from B. melitensis virulent strain 565 had a more pronounced disturbing effect on hematopoiesis than LPS from B. abortus vaccine strain 19-BA. Among the LPS preparations obtained by different methods, the one obtained with the use of the technique developed at the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology proved to have the mildest effect on hematopoiesis, probably due to the partial saponification of the lipid component of LPS. Lipid A in a dose of 0.1-10 micrograms produced no activating effect on the hematopoiesis characteristics under study. None of the LPS preparations proved to be capable of stimulating the formation of transitory endogenous colonies in the spleen of mice.     

Altered immunochemical reactivity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae a-cells after alpha-factor-induced morphogenesis.

Antibodies were raised against Saccharomyces cerevisiae a-cells that had been exposed to the sex pheromone, alpha-factor. After adsorption of the antiserum with diploid cells, antibodies remained that reacted specifically with the mannan from haploid cells. The characteristic determinant was observed in mannan from pheromone-treated a-cells, in mannan from untreated alpha-cells, and at a much lower concentration, in mannan from control a-cells. The antigens from these three mannans appeared to be identical. The determinant was destroyed by mild-acid hydrolysis or periodate oxidation, but not by proteolysis or digestion with exo-alpha-mannanase. Mutants with altered mannan were unable to express the antigen. Complete acid hydrolysates mannan from alpha-factor-treated a-cells contained mannose, glucose, and N-acetylglucosamine. Partial acid hydrolysis, under conditions that destroyed the antigenic determinant, released only mannose and mannobiose. The mannose fraction was labeled to high specific activity during response of a-cells to alpha-factor if radioactive glucose was the carbon source. Neither alpha- not beta-D-mannopyranosyl phosphate was a hapten. The results are consistent with the presence of a haploid-specific antigen containing an acid-labile mannose determinant and show that the amount of this antigen in a-cell mannan is increased in response to alpha-factor.     

The type antigen III of group F streptococci separation of group and type antigens and partial characterization of type III antigen

Polysaccharides extracted from Z₃III streptococci either with formamide or with dilute hydrochloric acid or isolated from the growth medium could be fractionated in type III- and group Z₃ antigens by alcohol precipitation. No good separation could be obtained from TCA extracts. When the same extractions and fractionations were applied to streptococci carrying type III antigen, but different group antigens, good separations were again obtained of all formamide extracts, but not of all hydrochloric acid extracts. The group antigens showed a rhamnose content of at least 50% and contained hexosamines. Type III antigens contained mainly rhamnose, glucose and galactose in relative amounts of approximately 1:2:3. Analysis of the methylated type III antigen suggests it to be a polysaccharide with a linear structure. Type III antigen isolated from the medium was characterized not only by a different sugar ratio, but also by its fucose content of 20%. In some cases the purified polysaccharides contained considerable amounts of glycogen-like material. Partial acid hydrolysis of the type III antigen extracted with formamide yielded a great number of oligosaccharides. Analyses, inhibition reactions and methylation studies gave indications that the most probable structure of a determinant group of type III antigen is β-glucosyl-(1-6)-galactosyl-(1-6)-galactosyl-(1-3)-rhamnose. The possibility of the existence of a second determinant group is discussed.     

Rapid method of isolation of lipid A from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis]

The possibility of preparing the lipid A (LA) from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Serovar IB by the hydrolysis of whole cells instead of the preliminary isolation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was demonstrated. Direct extraction with an organic solvent of the bacterial mass preliminary treated with 10% acetic acid or 1 M HCl was shown to result in a di- (LAAcOH) or monophosphoryl derivative (LAHCl), respectively. These were completely extractable only after treatment with strong hydrolyzing agents. We concluded that two forms of LA (and LPS) exist in the pseudotuberculosis bacterium which differ in the stability of their bonding to the bacterial outer membrane.     

Involvement of surface polysaccharides in the organic acid resistance of Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7

In general, wild Escherichia coli strains can grow effectively under moderately acidic organic acid-rich conditions. We found that the Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O157:H7 NGY9 grows more quickly than a K-12 strain in Luria-Bertani (LB)-2-morpholinoethanesulphonic acid (MES) broth supplemented with acetic acid (pH 5.4). Hypothesizing that the resistance of STEC O157:H7 to acetic acid is as a result of a mechanism(s) other than those known, we screened for STEC mutants sensitive to acetic acid. NGY9 was subjected to mini-Tn5 mutagenesis and, from 50,000 colonies, five mutants that showed a clear acetic acid-sensitive phenotype were isolated. The insertion of mini-Tn5 in three mutants occurred at the fcl, wecA (rfe) and wecB (rffE) genes and caused loss of surface O-polysaccharide, loss of both O-polysaccharide and enterobacterial common antigen (ECA) and loss of ECA respectively. The other two mutants showed inactivation of the waaG (rfaG) gene but at different positions that caused a deep rough mutant with loss of the outer core oligosaccharide of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as well as phenotypic loss of O-polysaccharide and ECA. With the introduction of plasmids carrying the fcl, wecA, wecB and waaG genes, respectively, all mutants were complemented in their production of O-polysaccharide and ECA, and normal growth was restored in organic acid-rich culture conditions. We also found that the growth of Salmonella LPS mutants Ra, Rb1, Rc, Rd1, Rd2 and Re was suppressed in the presence of acetic acid compared with that of the parents. These results suggest that the full expression of LPS (including O-polysaccharide) and ECA is indispensable to the resistance against acetic acid and other short chain fatty acids in STEC O157:H7 and Salmonella. To the best of our knowledge, this is a newly identified physiological role for O-polysaccharide and ECA as well as an acid resistance mechanism.     

Structure and serological characterization of the O-antigen of Proteus mirabilis O18 with a phosphocholine-containing oligosaccharide phosphate repeating unit

A phosphorylated, choline-containing polysaccharide was obtained by O-deacylation of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Proteus mirabilis O18 by treatment with aqueous 12% ammonia, whereas hydrolysis with dilute acetic acid resulted in depolymerisation of the polysaccharide chain by the glycosyl phosphate linkage. Treatment of the O-deacylated LPS with aqueous 48% hydrofluoric acid cleaved the glycosyl phosphate group but, unexpectedly, did not affect the choline phosphate group. The polysaccharide and the derived oligosaccharides were studied by NMR spectroscopy, including 2D 1H,1H COSY, TOCSY, ROESY, 1H,13C HMQC and HMQC-TOSCY experiments, along with chemical methods, and the following structure of the pentasaccharide phosphate repeating unit was established: [carbohydrate structure in text] Where ChoP=Phosphocoline Immunochemical studies of the LPS, O-deacylated LPS and partially dephosphorylated pentasaccharide using rabbit polyclonal anti-P. mirabilis O18 serum showed the importance of the glycosyl phosphate group in manifesting the serological specificity of the O18-antigen.     

Structure of the exceptionally large nonrepetitive carbohydrate backbone of the lipopolysaccharide of Pectinatus frisingensis strain VTT E-82164.

The structures of the oligosaccharides obtained after acetic acid hydrolysis and alkaline deacylation of the rough-type lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Pectinatus frisingensis strain VTT E-82164 were analysed using NMR spectroscopy, MS and chemical methods. The LPS contains two major structural variants, differing by a decasaccharide fragment, and some minor variants lacking the terminal glucose residue. The largest structure of the carbohydrate backbone of the LPS that could be deduced from experimental results consists of 25 monosaccharides (including the previously found Ara4NP residue in lipid A) arranged in a well-defined nonrepetitive structure: We presume that the shorter variant with R1 = H represents the core-lipid A part of the LPS, and the additional fragment is present instead of the O-specific polysaccharide. Structures of this type have not been previously described. Analysis of the deacylation products obtained from the LPS of the smooth strain, VTT E-79100T, showed that it contains a very similar core but with one different glycosidic linkage.     

Effects of partial acid hydrolysis on physical and chemical properties of agar from a newly reported Japanese agarophyte (Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis)

Physical and chemical properties of alkali-treated agar polymers extracted from Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis, newly reported Japanese agarophyte, were investigated after partial acid hydrolysis. The alkali-treated agar was hydrolyzed in boiling 0.1 N, 0.01 N, and 0.001 N sulfuric acid, oxalic acid, acetic acid, and citric acid solutions, for 1, 2, and 3 h at 100 °C. Partial acid hydrolysis of the agar polymers indicated strong effects on the physical properties. Different kinds of acid used for hydrolysis gave different agar properties. Gelling polymers were obtained from the agar hydrolysed in boiling 0.001 N acetic acid, oxalic acid, and citric acid solutions, and in 0.01 N acetic acid solution. High gel strength (715 ± 74.6 g cm-2) with low viscosity (2.47 cP) was obtained from 1 h treatment by 0.001 N acetic acid on hydrolysed agar. The results indicated that partial hydrolysis of agar under appropriate conditions probably improve agar quality and produce good grade agar from the Japanese agarophyte. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Chemical properties of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) isolated from Vibrio anguillarum PT514

Vibrio anguillarum, one of the causative agents of fish vibriosis, is serologically and biochemically divided into three groups (A, B and C). The chemical composition and molecular architecture of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) isolated from V. anguillarum PT 514, which belongs to serogroup B, were investigated. The LPS contained glucose (Glc), fructose (Fru), L-glycero-D-mannoheptose (L-D Hep), glucosamine (GlcN) and 4-amino-4,6-dideoxyglucose as sugar constituents in molar ratios of 8.9:0.7:3.0:1.1:1.6. Sephadex G-50 gel-chromatography of a degraded polysaccharide fraction separated from the LPS by 5% acetic acid hydrolysis suggested that the O-specific polysaccharide region consists of, in average, as much as 29 moles of Glc per 3 moles of L-D Hep, while the core polysaccharide contains at least Glc, L-D Hep and GlcN in molar ratios of 3.2 : 3.0 : 0.2. Fru and 4-amino-4,6-dideoxyglucose components were released from LPS on weak-acid hydrolysis, indicating that PT 514 LPS is distinguishable from those of Vibrio anguillarum belonging to the other serogroups. 2-Keto-3-deoxyoctonate (KDO), a common sugar constituent of gram-negative bacterial LPS, was not detected by Weissbach's color reaction under the conventional hydrolysis condition, but O-phosphoryl KDO was found in the strong-acid hydrolysate (4 M HCl, 100 C, 45 min). This substance was identical, at least in high-voltage paper electrophoresis, to 5-O-phosphoryl KDO.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Relationship between structure and antigenicity of O1 Vibrio cholerae lipopolysaccharides

The relationship between the release of fructose from O1 Vibrio cholerae lipopolysaccharides (LPS) by dilute acetic acid hydrolysis and the decrease in their antigenicity was examined. Decrease in the antigenicity of LPS was not parallel with the release of fructose, and occurred very much later than the latter. Periodate oxidation of LPS resulted in the total elimination of the fructose and glucose, and two-thirds of the heptose constituents, but no difference in the antigenicity of LPS was observed before and after oxidation. These findings indicate that the fructose present in O1 V. cholerae LPS is not substantially involved in their specific antigenicity. In the O1 V. cholerae LPS, the fructose is in the branch structure, most probably in the core region.     

Full structure of the O-specific polysaccharide of Proteus mirabilis O24 containing 3,4-O-[(S)-1-carboxyethylidene]-D-galactose

The structure of a neutral polysaccharide isolated by degradation with dilute acetic acid of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of P. mirabilis O24 has been determined recently [E. Literacka et al., FEBS Lett., 456 (1999) 227-231]. Further studies of this LPS using alkaline degradation and hydrolysis at pH 4.5 showed that the polysaccharide chain includes an acetal-linked pyruvic acid residue, which is removed completely during delipidation with acetic acid. A revision using 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and methylation analysis resulted in determination of the following full structure of the repeating unit of the O-specific polysaccharide: carbohydrate sequence [see text] where D-Gal3,4(S-Pyr) is 3,4-O-[(S)-1-carboxyethylidene]-D-galactose.     

3-C-branched aldoses in lipopolysaccharide of phase I Coxiella burnetii and their role as immunodominant factors

Mild acid hydrolysis with 1% acetic acid (100 degrees C, 15-60 min) of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) isolated from Coxiella burnetii phase I cells leads to a drastic decrease in its serological reactivity as shown by the passive hemolysis test. This decrease in reactivity occurs parallel or even prior to the cleavage of LPS into free lipid A and the polysaccharide moiety. During this mild hydrolysis two unusual sugars (X and Y) are released from the LPS, which were obtained in pure state by thin-layer chromatography. Analysis of their alditol acetate derivatives by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry revealed that sugar X is a 6-deoxy-3-C-methyl-hexose and sugar Y a 3-C-(hydroxymethyl)-pentose. Using a range of authentic standards and different thin-layer and gas chromatographic conditions, X could be recognized as 6-deoxy-3-C-methyl-gulose (virenose), very probably as the L form of this sugar (L-virenose). Y has been identified as 3-C-(hydroxymethyl)-lyxose (dihydrohydroxystreptose) by comparing it with newly synthesized 3-C-(hydroxymethyl)-pentoses (Dahlman, O., Garegg, P. J., Mayer, H., Schramek, S., unpublished results). Both branched sugars are (at least partially) in terminal positions since methylation analysis of LPS afforded (mainly) their permethylated derivatives. This analysis further showed virenose to be linked in C. burnetii phase I LPS as pyranose and dihydro-hydroxystreptose as furanose. The terminal linkage and the chemical nature of X and Y are in accordance with the observed acid-lability of the serological determinants.     

Synthesis of stavudine amino acid ester prodrugs with broad-spectrum chemotherapeutic properties for the effective treatment of HIV/AIDS

A series of prodrugs of stavudine were synthesized in an effort to enhance spectrum of chemotherapeutic properties for the effective treatment of HIV/AIDS. The 5'-OH function of stavudine was esterified with ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, isoniazide, pyrazinamide, piperazine and dimethylamine acetic acid. The anti-HIV-1 activity of the esters was determined in CEM cell line and stavudine ester bearing piperazine acetic acid was found to be the most potent compound with a selective index of >15,723. Stavudine prodrug bearing ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin acetic acid showed 100% inhibition against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H(37)Rv at 6.25 microg/mL. The prodrugs also exhibited antibacterial activity against 24 pathogenic bacteria. In vitro hydrolysis of the various esters in human plasma indicated that these agents were relatively stable toward plasma esterases with t(1/2) ranging from 20-240 min.     

Alterations in lipopolysaccharide produced by chemostat-grown Escherichia coli O157:H7 as a function of growth rate and growth-limiting nutrient

Escherichia coli O157:H7 was grown in chemostats as continuous cultures at different controlled growth rates and under different nutrient limitations to determine the effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) structure. LPS from whole cells and extracted using the hot aqueous phenol method was examined by sodium dodecyl sulfate--polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and by gel filtration after hydrolysis with acetic acid. At low growth rates under glucose limitation (D = 0.1 h-1, doubling time (td), approx. 416 min; or D = 0.4 h-1, td, approx. 104 min), E. coli O157 produced high molecular weight LPS identical to that previously characterized from cells grown in batch culture. At a high growth rate (D = 0.8 h-1, td, approx. 52 min), the ratio of high molecular weight LPS to low molecular weight LPS produced greatly decreased. A small amount of high molecular weight LPS, containing O-polysaccharide which lacked amino sugars, and which thus was chemically different from that previously characterized, was produced by the cells at high growth rates. The predominant form of LPS from these cells was of slightly higher molecular weight than rough LPS, probably S-R LPS, and it consistently formed aggregates on SDS-PAGE. This form of LPS was also predominant when E. coli O157 was grown under Mg2+ limitation at an intermediate growth rate (D = 0.4 h-1, td, approx. 104 min).     

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。     

Chemical Characterization of the Lipopolysaccharide of Pseudomonas solanacearum

The carbohydrates present in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Pseudomonas solanacearum are rhamnose, xylose, 2-amino-2-deoxyglucose, glucose, heptose, and 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate. LPS extracted from cultures grown on either glycerol or glucose (as the major source of carbon) and extracted after various incubation periods had similar compositions. The LPS from several strains of the bacterium contained the same component sugars, but the amounts of each sugar varied considerably. It was observed, however, that xylose and 2-amino-2-deoxyglucose increased proportionately with rhamnose, the major component. Phenol-water-extracted LPS contained measurable amounts of nucleic acid, protein, and arabinan, but none of these polymers were detected in LPS extracted with phenol-chloroform-petroleum ether. Polysaccharides liberated from LPS by mild acid hydrolysis were purified by gel filtration. Carbohydrate analysis of the LPS from a virulent, fluidal strain (K60) showed that the O-specific antigen consisted of rhamnose, xylose, and 2-amino-2-deoxyglucose in the proportions 4:1:1. The LPS of an avirulent, afluidal strain (B1) lacked the O-specific antigen; the R-core region consisted of rhamnose, glucose, heptose, and 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate. Methylation analysis indicated that the K60 O-specific antigen was composed of a hexasaccharide repeating unit containing 3-, 2-, and 3,4-substituted rhamnopyranosyl residues, 3-substituted 2-amino-2-deoxyglucose, and terminal xylopyranose in the molar ratios 2:1:1:1:1.