title: Rate, mechanism, and immunochemical studies of lactonisation in serogroup B and C polysaccharides of Neisseria meningitidis.
abstract: Meningococcal Serogroup B polysaccharide and colominic acid, which are (2----8)-alpha-linked homopolymers of sialic acid, undergo lactonisation at low pH at a rate which is dependent upon the molecular size and upon the salt form (Na+ or Ca2+). Meningococcal Serogroup C polysaccharide, a (2----9)-alpha-linked homopolymer of sialic acid with acetyl groups present at O-7 and/or O-8, reacts with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide to give an O-acylisourea. The rate of formation of O-acylisourea does not differ substantially between O-acetylated (O-Ac+) C, non-O-acetylated (O-Ac-) C, and B polysaccharide. 13C-N.m.r. spectroscopy shows that, in the absence of O-acetyl groups, the majority of the activated carboxyl groups of C polysaccharide condense with an adjacent HO-8 to form a delta-lactone. Immunochemical studies show that the antigenicity of B polysaccharide is markedly reduced on lactonisation of less than 20%, as measured by a radioimmunoassay using an anti-B monoclonal antibody, and that low-molecular-weight colominic acid is poorly antigenic both before and after lactonisation, suggesting the presence of conformational determinants on B polysaccharide. In contrast, lactonisation and/or formation of O-acylisourea groups in the (O-Ac+)-C polysaccharide does not cause a significant decrease in the antigenicity, which is consistent with a sequential (structural) determinant on the molecule.
mesh_terms: D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007783:Lactones / Q000378:metabolism*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism*; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D012703:Serotyping; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared
chemical_list: D007783:Lactones; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial