title: Occurrence of a common lipopolysaccharide antigen in standard and clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
abstract: The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 contains two species of O polysaccharide termed A and B bands. The high-molecular-weight B-band LPS determines the O specificity of the bacterium, while the antigenically distinct A-band LPS consists of only shorter-chain polysaccharides. Seven hybridomas secreting A-band-specific monoclonal antibodies were produced and used to study the LPS of standard and clinical strains. Although A-band antibodies did not agglutinate any of the serotype strains presently in the International Antigenic Typing Scheme, Western immunoblots revealed that 11 of the 17 serotype strains possessed A-band LPS. In a group of 250 clinical isolates from patients with cystic fibrosis, 170 (68%) had A-band LPS on the basis of agglutination tests, but in silver-stained gels all were shown to be deficient in O-antigen-containing B band. Investigation of serial isolates from a single patient revealed a pattern of antigenic variation. During the course of the infection, serotypeable isolates became nontypeable, and the O antigen was replaced with A band as the major LPS antigen. These results suggest that A-band LPS may be the major LPS antigen in nontypeable clinical isolates and a common antigen among other P. aeruginosa strains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: McGroarty
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kropinski
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: MacDonald
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Høiby
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lam
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006801:Humans; D006825:Hybridomas; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides