title: Structural properties of lipopolysaccharides from Rickettsia typhi and Rickettsia prowazekii and their chemical similarity to the lipopolysaccharide from Proteus vulgaris OX19 used in the Weil-Felix test.
abstract: The lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) isolated from typhus group (TG) rickettsiae Rickettsia typhi and Rickettsia prowazekii were characterized by chemical analysis and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) followed by silver staining. LPSs from two species of TG rickettsiae contained glucose, 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonic acid, glucosamine, quinovosamine, phosphate, and fatty acids (beta-hydroxylmyristic acid and heneicosanoic acid) but not heptose. The O-polysaccharides of these LPSs were composed of glucose, glucosamine, quinovosamine, and phosphorylated hexosamine. Resolution of these LPSs by their apparent molecular masses by SDS-PAGE showed that they have a common ladder-like pattern. Based on the results of chemical composition and SDS-PAGE pattern, we suggest that these LPSs act as group-specific antigens. Furthermore, glucosamine, quinovosamine, and phosphorylated hexosamine were also found in the O-polysaccharide of the LPS from Proteus vulgaris OX19 used in the Weil-Felix test, suggesting that they may represent the antigens common to LPSs from TG rickettsiae and P. vulgaris OX19.
authors.affiliation: Airborne Diseases Division, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Frederick, Maryland 21701-5011, USA. amanocrl@med.akita-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: K I
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Amano
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Dasch
mesh_terms: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D000939:Epitopes; D006801:Humans; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011514:Proteus vulgaris / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012283:Rickettsia prowazekii / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D012286:Rickettsia typhi / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000939:Epitopes; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides