STRUCTURE OF 2-AMINOETHYL PHOSPHATE-CONTAINING O-SPECIFIC POLYSACCHARIDE OF PROTEUS PENNERI 63 FROM A NEW SEROGROUP O68

A.S. Shashkova, A.N. Kondakovaa, K. Zychb, S.N. Senchenkovaa, F.V. Toukacha, Z. Sidorczykb, Y.A. Knirela

aN. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia,
bInstitute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Lodz, Poland

KEYWORDS: Proteus penneri, O-antigen, O-serogroup, 2-aminoethyl phosphate, lipopolysaccharide, structure

Eur. J. Biochem., 2000, v. 267, pp.601-605

DOI: 10.1046/j.1432-1327.2000.01041.x    (free full text)


The lipopolysaccharide of Proteus penneri strain 63 was degraded by mild acid to give a high-molecular-mass O-specific polysaccharide isolated by gel-permeation chromatography. Sugar and methylation analyses and NMR spectroscopic studies, including 2D 1H, 1H COSY, TOCSY, rotating-frame NOE spectroscopy (ROESY), H-detected 1H,13C and 1H,31P heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherence (HMQC), and 1H,13C HMQC-TOCSY experiments, demonstrated the following structure of the polysaccharide:

                 bDGlcp          PEtN
                   |4            |6
-6)aDGlcpNAc(1-3)aLFucpNAc(1-3)bDGlcpNAc(1-2)bDGlcp(1-

where FucNAc is 2-acetamido-2,6-dideoxygalactose and PEtN is 2-aminoethyl phosphate.

The polysaccharide studied shares some structural features, such as the presence of bDGlcNAc6PEtn and aLFucNAc(1-3)bDGlcNAc fragments, with other Proteus O-specific polysaccharides. A marked cross-reactivity of P. penneri 63 O-antiserum with Proteus vulgaris O12 was observed and substantiated by a structural similarity of the O-specific polysaccharides of two strains. In spite of this, the P. penneri 63 polysaccharide has the unique structure among Proteus O-antigens, and, therefore, a new, separate serogroup O68 is proposed for this strain.


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