title: The lipopolysaccharide of Shigella bacteria as a virulence factor.
abstract: The virulence factors of the lipopolysaccharide of Shigella species bacteria include the endotoxic activities of the lipid A component of the molecule and the ability of the polysaccharide chain--the core and the O-antigenic polysaccharide--to provide the bacterium with resistance to host defense mechanisms such as opsonization, phagocytosis, and intracellular killing. Structural features of the lipopolysaccharides of four Shigella species-S. dysenteriae, S. flexneri, S. boydii, and S. sonnei--are described.
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institute, Department of Clinical Bacteriology, Huddinge Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lindberg
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kärnell
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weintraub
mesh_terms: D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D004405:Dysentery, Bacillary / Q000382:microbiology*; D000939:Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008050:Lipid A / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012760:Shigella / Q000032:analysis / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; D008050:Lipid A; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides