Minimum nutritional requirements for cellular growth and extracellular slime polysaccharide production by the human dental plaque bacterial mutant Actinomyces viscosus T14Av

Immunochemical studies on pneumococcal type 37 capsular polysaccharide

Pneumococcal type 37 capsular polysaccharide was obtained free of contaminants by affinity chromatography on Con-A, wheat germ agglutinin, Maclura pomifera lectin and HOPC-8 mouse myeloma protein affinity columns. The immunochemical reactivity of native and periodate oxidized borohydride reduced type 37 polysaccharide antigen with polyclonal rabbit and monoclonal mouse anti-Pn37 hybridoma antibodies was studied by quantitative precipitation. Quantitative hapten inhibition studies, employing the isomeric series of alpha- and beta-(1----2), (1----3), (1----4) and (1----6)-linked glucobioses as competitive inhibitors of antibody precipitation establish a specificity for anti-Pn37 antibody directed at least in part, against the Glc beta(1----2) Glc (sophorosyl) unit. A high mol. wt, D-glucose containing polysaccharide antigen, cross-reactive with rabbit anti-Pn37 is reported which was found to occur in the culture medium of 7 of 19 strains of Actinomyces examined.