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Comparative chemical and biological characterization of the lipopolysaccharides of gastric and enterohepatic helicobacters

Author

  • Sean Hynes
  • John A. Ferris
  • Bogumila Szponar
  • Torkel Wadström
  • James G. Fox
  • Jani O'Rourke
  • Lennart Larsson
  • Elisa Yaquian
  • Åsa Ljungh
  • Marguerite Clyne
  • Leif P. Andersen
  • Anthony P. Moran

Summary, in English

Background. The lipopolysaccharide of Helicobacter pylori plays an important role in colonization and pathogenicity. The present study sought to compare structural and biological features of lipopolysaccharides from gastric and enterohepatic Helicobacter spp. not previously characterized.Materials and methods. Purified lipopolysaccharides from four gastric Helicobacter spp. (H. pylori, Helicobacter felis, Helicobacter bizzozeronii and Helicobacter mustelae) and four enterohepatic Helicobacter spp. (Helicobacter hepaticus, Helicobacter bilis, Helicobacter sp. flexispira and Helicobacter pullorum) were structurally characterized using electrophoretic, serological and chemical methods.Results. Structural insights into all three moieties of the lipopolysaccharides, i.e. lipid A, core and O-polysaccharide chains, were gained. All species expressed lipopolysaccharides bearing an O-polysaccharide chain, but H. mustelae and H. hepaticus produced truncated semirough lipopolysaccharides. However, in contrast to lipopolysaccharides of H. pylori and H. mustelae, no blood group mimicry was detected in the other Helicobacter spp. examined. Intra-species, but not interspecies, fatty acid profiles of lipopolysaccharides were identical within the genus. Although shared lipopolysaccharide-core epitopes with H. pylori occurred, differing structural characteristics were noted in this lipopolysaccharide region of some Helicobacter spp. The lipopolysaccharides of the gastric helicobacters, H. bizzozeronii and H. mustelae, had relative Limulus amoebocyte lysate activities which clustered around that of H. pylori lipopolysaccharide, whereas H. bilis, Helicobacter sp. flexispira and H. hepaticus formed a cluster with approximately 100010,000-fold lower activities. H. pullorum lipopolysaccharide had the highest relative Limulus amoebocyte lysate activity of all the helicobacter lipopolysaccharides (10-fold higher than that of H. pylori lipopolysaccharide), and all the lipopolysaccharides of enterohepatic Helicobacter spp. were capable of inducing nuclear factor-Kappa B(NF-B) activation.Conclusions. The collective results demonstrate the structural heterogeneity and pathogenic potential of lipopolysaccharides of the Helicobacter genus as a group and these differences in lipopolysaccharides may be indicative of adaptation of the bacteria to different ecological niches.

Publishing year

2004

Language

English

Pages

313-323

Publication/Series

Helicobacter

Volume

9

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Topic

  • Microbiology in the medical area

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1083-4389