title: Digalactoside expression in the lipopolysaccharide of Haemophilus influenzae and its role in intravascular survival.
abstract: Digalactoside (galalpha-1-4 galbeta) structures of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Haemophilus influenzae are implicated in virulence. A confounding factor is that tetranucleotide repeats within the lic2A, lgtC, and lex2 genes mediate phase-variable expression of the digalactosides. By deleting these repeats, we constructed recombinant strains of RM153 constitutively expressing either one or two LPS digalactosides. Expression of two digalactosides, rather than one, was associated with increased virulence of H. influenzae in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Infectious Diseases Group, University of Oxford Department of Paediatrics, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, UK. r.griffin@imperial.ac.uk
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: Chris D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Bayliss
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Herbert
authors.forename: Andrew D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Makepeace
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: Derek W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Hood
authors.forename: E Richard
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Moxon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000382:microbiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D004187:Disaccharides / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017384:Sequence Deletion
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004187:Disaccharides; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; C102237:lic2A protein, Haemophilus influenzae; C032103:4-O-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl-D-galactose