Chemical Comparison of the Polysaccharide Portions of Shigella Lipopolysaccharides and Their Relation to Virulence.

Abstract

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) were extracted from virulent and avirulent strains of Shigella flexneri 2a, S. flexneri 1b, S. sonnei, and E. coli - S. flexneri hybrids in an effort to determine if the difference in virulence could be explained by chemical differences in the polysaccharide portion of the lipopolysaccharides. Comparison of the monosaccharide content of LPS from virulent and avirulent strains showed no major differences in the chemical content of this portion of the LPS which could explain their difference in virulence. However, comparison of the monosaccharide content of LPS from organisms grown on Brain-Heart Infusion (BHI) agar with that from organisms grown in BHI broth showed a five fold increase in the length of the O side chains of both virulent and avirulent agar grown cells. The polysaccharide component of the LPS is essentially identical in both the virulent and avirulent organisms studied. (Modified author abstract)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 30, 1974
Accession Number
AD0781687

Entities

People

  • Donald E. Koeltzow

Organizations

  • Luther College

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Biomolecules
  • Carbohydrates
  • Chemical Compounds
  • Food
  • Infusions
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • Monosaccharides
  • Organic Compounds
  • Polysaccharides
  • Virulence

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Immunology