title: The structures of the lipooligosaccharide and capsule polysaccharide of Campylobacter jejuni genome sequenced strain NCTC 11168.
abstract: Campylobacter jejuni infections are one of the leading causes of human gastroenteritis and are suspected of being a precursor to Guillain-Barré and Miller-Fisher syndromes. Recently, the complete genome sequence of C. jejuni NCTC 11168 was described. In this study, the molecular structure of the lipooligosaccharide and capsular polysaccharide of C. jejuni NCTC 11168 was investigated. The lipooligosaccharide was shown to exhibit carbohydrate structures analogous to the GM1a and GM2 carbohydrate epitopes of human gangliosides (shown below): The high Mr capsule polysaccharide was composed of beta-d-Ribp, beta-d-GalfNAc, alpha-d-GlcpA6(NGro), a uronic acid amidated with 2-amino-2-deoxyglycerol at C-6, and 6-O-methyl-d-glycero-alpha-l-gluco-heptopyranose as a side-branch (shown below): The structural information presented here will aid in the identification and characterization of specific enzymes that are involved in the biosynthesis of these structures and may lead to the discovery of potential therapeutic targets. In addition, the correlation of carbohydrate structure with gene complement will aid in the elucidation of the role of these surface carbohydrates in C. jejuni pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biological Sciences, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: St Michael
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Szymanski
authors.forename: Jianjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Kenneth H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Nam Huan
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Khieu
authors.forename: Suzon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Larocque
authors.forename: Warren W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Wakarchuk
authors.forename: Jean-Robert
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Brisson
authors.forename: Mario A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Monteiro
mesh_terms: D016667:Bacterial Capsules / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008745:Methylation; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015394:Molecular Structure; D005810:Multigene Family; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017421:Sequence Analysis; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; C023023:lipid-linked oligosaccharides