Chemical and immunochemical studies of the O-antigen from enteropathogenic Escherichia coli O158 lipopolysaccharide

The O-specific polysaccharide isolated from Escherichia coli O158 smooth lipopolysaccharide contains L-rhamnose, D-glucose and 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-galactose in the molar ratios 1:2:2. Studies on composition, methylation analysis and specific degradations together with a 1H and 13C NMR spectral study established that the O-antigen is built up from a pentasaccharide repeating unit having the following structure: formula: see text] The most effective inhibitory part of the oligosaccharide from E. coli O158 lipopolysaccharide has been serologically characterized by an ELISA-inhibition study using different sugars. The results showed that methyl alpha- and beta-D-GalpNAc are the most effective inhibitors among the monosaccharides tested, while the main antibody specificity lies on the main-chain trisaccharide repeating unit.