title: Immunochemical analysis of streptococcal group A, B, and C carbohydrates, with emphasis on group A.
abstract: Streptococcal group A, B, and C carbohydrates were analyzed by counterimmunoelectrophoresis, immunoelectrophoresis, and inhibition of immunoprecipitation. Extracts of streptococci group A or C were shown by counterimmunoelectrophoresis to contain both anodic and cathodic migrating components. In immunoelectrophoresis, group A and C substances formed a continuous precipitation line stretching from the anode to the cathode, suggesting a heterogeneous population of molecules with immunochemical identity. This identity was confirmed by inhibition of immunoprecipitation, in which both anodic and cathodic immunoprecipitates were inhibited by the same constituent sugars: group A-anti-A was inhibited by N-acetylglucosamine, and group C-anti-C was inhibited by N-acetylgalactosamine. Extracts of group B showed only anodic migration in counterimmunoelectrophoresis and a narrow, anodic arc in immunoelectrophoresis. The group B-anti-B reaction was inhibited by rhamnose. Carbohydrates of variant strains of group A streptococci were also analyzed by the same methods. The results suggest that the heterogeneity of group A carbohydrate may have resulted from attachment of various amounts of N-acetylglucosamine to the polyrhamnose backbone.
mesh_terms: D000116:Acetylgalactosamine / Q000032:analysis; D000117:Acetylglucosamine / Q000032:analysis; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002621:Chemistry; D003378:Counterimmunoelectrophoresis; D007122:Immunoelectrophoresis; D011233:Precipitin Tests; D012210:Rhamnose / Q000032:analysis; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000032:analysis*; D013292:Streptococcus agalactiae / Q000032:analysis*; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D000116:Acetylgalactosamine; D012210:Rhamnose; D000117:Acetylglucosamine