Reinvestigation of the O-specific polysaccharides of Hafnia alvei lipopolysaccharides isolated from strains ATCC 13337 and 1187

Natural phosphoglycans containing glycosyl phosphate units: structural diversity and chemical synthesis

An anomeric phosphodiester linkage formed by a glycosyl phosphate unit and a hydroxyl group of another monosaccharide is found in many glycopolymers of the outer membrane in bacteria (e.g., capsular polysaccharides and lipopolysaccharides), yeasts and protozoa. The polymers (phosphoglycans) composed of glycosyl phosphate (or oligoglycosyl phosphate) repeating units could be chemically classified as poly(glycosyl phosphates). Their importance as immunologically active components of the cell wall and/or capsule of numerous microorganisms upholds the need to develop routes for the chemical preparation of these biopolymers. In this paper, we (1) present a review of the primary structures (known to date) of natural phosphoglycans from various sources, which contain glycosyl phosphate units, and (2) discuss different approaches and recent achievements in the synthesis of glycosyl phosphosaccharides and poly(glycosyl phosphates).

Immunochemical aspects of Hafnia alvei O antigens

In the article the composition and structure of the O-specific polysaccharide chains and core region of the O antigens isolated from over 20 H. alvei strains is overviewed. Moreover, the correlation between the structure and immunospecificity of the O antigens is presented and discussed.