title: Immunochemical characterization of the O antigens of two Proteus strains, O8-related antigen of Proteus mirabilis 12 B-r and O2-related antigen of Proteus genomospecies 5/6 12 B-k, infecting a hospitalized patient in Poland.
abstract: A hospitalized 73-year-old woman was infected with a Proteus mirabilis strain, 12 B-r, isolated from the place of injection of a blood catheter. Another strain, 12 B-k, recognized as Proteus genomospecies 5 or 6, was isolated from the patient's faeces, which was an example of a nosocomial infection rather than an auto-infection. Serological investigation using ELISA and Western blotting showed that strain 12 B-k from faeces belonged to the Proteus O2 serogroup. Strain 12 B-r from the wound displayed cross-reactions with several Proteus O serogroups due to common epitopes on the core or O-specific parts of the lipopolysaccharide. Studies of the isolated 12 B-r O-specific polysaccharide by NMR spectroscopy revealed its close structural similarity to that of Proteus O8. The only difference in 12 B-r was the presence of an additional GlcNAc-linked phosphoethanolamine residue, which creates a putative epitope responsible for the cross-reactivity with Pt. mirabilis O16. The new O-antigen form could appear as a result of adaptation of the bacterium to a changing environment. On the basis of the data obtained, we suggest division of the O8 serogroup into two subgroups: O8a for strains of various Proteus species that have been previously classified into the O8 serogroup, and O8a,b for Pt. mirabilis 12 B-r, where 'a' is a common epitope and 'b' is a phosphoethanolamine-associated epitope. These findings further confirm serological and structural heterogeneity of O antigens of Proteus strains isolated lately from patients in Poland.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Immunology, University of Łódź,90-237 Łódź,Poland.
authors.forename: Dominika
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Drzewiecka
authors.affiliation: N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry,Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow,Russia.
authors.forename: Alexander S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Shashkov
authors.affiliation: N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry,Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow,Russia.
authors.forename: Nikolay P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Arbatsky
authors.affiliation: N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry,Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow,Russia.
authors.forename: Yuriy A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Knirel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D055499:Catheter-Related Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004983:Ethanolamines / Q000737:chemistry; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D019081:O Antigens / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology*; D011044:Poland; D011512:Proteus Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D011513:Proteus mirabilis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D065288:Serogroup; D012703:Serotyping
chemical_list: D004983:Ethanolamines; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D019081:O Antigens; C005448:phosphorylethanolamine