Bioaccumulation of Amylose-Like Glycans by Helicobacter pylori |
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Authors: | José A Ferreira Cristiana Pires Marina Paulo Nuno F Azevedo M Rosário Domingues Maria João Vieira Mario A Monteiro Manuel A Coimbra |
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Institution: | Departamento de Química da Universidade de Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal;, Centro de Engenharia Biológica, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Braga, Portugal;, Department of Chemistry, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada |
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Abstract: | Background: Helicobacter pylori cell surface is composed of lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) yielding structures homologous to mammalian Lewis O -chains blood group antigens. These structures are key mediators in the definition of host-microbial interactions and known to change their expression pattern in response to environmental pressure. Aims: The present work is focused on the identification of new H. pylori cell-surface glycosides. Special attention is further devoted to provide insights on the impact of in vitro subcultivation on H. pylori cell-surface phenotypes. Methods: Cell-surface glycans from H. pylori NCTC 11637 and two clinical isolates were recovered from the aqueous phase resulting from phenol:water extraction of intact bacteria. They were evaluated in relation to their sugars and glycosidic-linkages composition by CG-MS, size-exclusion chromatography, NMR, and Mass Spectrometry. H. pylori glycan profile was also monitored during subcultivation in vitro in agar and F12 liquid medium. Results: All three studied strains produce LPS expressing Lewis epitopes and express bioaccumulate amylose-like glycans. Bioaccumulation of amylose was found to be enhanced with the subcultivation of the bacterium on agar medium and accompanied by a decrease in the expression of LPS O -chains. In contrast, during exponential growth in F12 liquid medium, an opposite behavior is observed, that is, there is an increase in the overall amount of LPS and decrease in amylose content. Conclusions: This work shows that under specific environmental conditions, H. pylori expresses a phase-variable cell-surface α-(1→4)-glucose moiety. |
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Keywords: | Helicobacter pylori cell-surface polysaccharide glucan environmental pressure |
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