Lipopolysaccharide Hide and Seek Game with Pertussis: Structural Analysis of the O-Specific Polysaccharide and the Core Oligosaccharide of the Type Strain ATCC 51541.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease caused predominantly by , but it also comprises of a pertussis-like illness caused by . The virulence factors of and their role in the pathogenesis remain unknown. Lipopolysaccharide is the main surface antigen of all . Data on the structural features of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of are scarce. The poly- and oligosaccharide components released by mild acidic hydrolysis of the LPS were separated and investigated by H and C NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and chemical methods. The structures of the O-specific polysaccharide and the core oligosaccharide of ATCC 51541 have been identified for the first time. The novel pentasaccharide repeating unit of the O-specific polysaccharide has the following structure: {→2)-α-l-Rha-(1→6)-α-d-Glc-(1→4)-[β-d-GlcNAc-(1→3]-α-d-Gal-(1→3)-α-d-GlcNAc-(1→}. The SDS-PAGE and serological cross-reactivities of the LPS suggested the similarity between the core oligosaccharides of ATCC 51541 and strain 606. The main oligosaccharide fraction contained a nonasaccharide. The comparative analysis of the NMR spectra of core oligosaccharide fraction with this of the strain 606 indicated that the investigated core oligosaccharides were identical.