title: Lipoarabinomannan of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Capping with mannosyl residues in some strains.
abstract: Previously we had demonstrated that the termini of the arabinan component of mycobacterial cell wall arabinogalactan, the site of mycolic acid location, consists mostly of clusters of a pentaarabinofuranoside, [beta-D-Araf-(1----2)-alpha-D-Araf-(1----]2----(3 and 5)-alpha-D-Araf. Subsequently, the same arrangement was shown to dominate the non-reducing ends of lipoarabinomannan (LAM), a key component in the interaction of mycobacteria with host cell. Accordingly, we had proposed that mycobacteria universally elaborate the same Araf-containing motifs in two settings for different pathophysiological purposes. However, we now report that the termini of LAM from the virulent, Erdman, strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, unlike those from the attenuated H37Ra strain, are extensively capped with mannosyl (Manp) residues, either a single alpha-D-Manp, a dimannoside (alpha-D-Manp-(1----2)-alpha-D-Manp), or a trimannoside (alpha-D-Manp-(1----2)-alpha-D-Manp-(1----2)-alpha-D-Manp ). The use of monoclonal antibodies demonstrates a clear difference in the antigenicity of the basic and mannose-capped LAM. The possibility that these structures are a factor in the virulence of some strains of M. tuberculosis and represent an example of carbohydrate mimicry in mycobacterial infections is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 80523.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lowell
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rivoire
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: McNeil
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Brennan
mesh_terms: D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008358:Mannose; D008745:Methylation; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D009844:Oligosaccharides; C050016:lipoarabinomannan; D008358:Mannose