Heterogeneity of lipid A: comparison of lipid A types from different gram-negative bacteria

Carbohydrate Immune Adjuvants in Subunit Vaccines

Modern subunit vaccines are composed of antigens and a delivery system and/or adjuvant (immune stimulator) that triggers the desired immune responses. Adjuvants mimic pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that are typically associated with infections. Carbohydrates displayed on the surface of pathogens are often recognized as PAMPs by receptors on antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Consequently, carbohydrates and their analogues have been used as adjuvants and delivery systems to promote antigen transport to APCs. Carbohydrates are biocompatible, usually nontoxic, biodegradable, and some are mucoadhesive. As such, carbohydrates and their derivatives have been intensively explored for the development of new adjuvants. This review assesses the immunological functions of carbohydrate ligands and their ability to enhance systemic and mucosal immune responses against co-administered antigens. The role of carbohydrate-based adjuvants/delivery systems in the development of subunit vaccines is discussed in detail.

Human lactoferrin interacts with soluble CD14 and inhibits expression of endothelial adhesion molecules, E-selectin and ICAM-1, induced by the CD14-lipopolysaccharide complex

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS), either in the free form or complexed to CD14, a LPS receptor, are elicitors of the immune system. Lactoferrin (Lf), a LPS-chelating glycoprotein, protects animals against septic shock. Since optimal protection requires administration of Lf prior to lethal doses of LPS, we hypothesized that interactions between Lf and soluble CD14 (sCD14) exist. In a first step, human sCD14 and human Lf (hLf) were used to determine the kinetic binding parameters of hLf to free sCD14 in an optical biosensor. The results demonstrated that hLf bound specifically and with a high affinity (K(d) = 16+/-7 nM) to sCD14. Affinity chromatography studies showed that hLf interacted not only with free sCD14 but also, though with different binding properties, with sCD14 complexed to LPS or lipid A-2-keto-3-deoxyoctonic acid-heptose. In a second step, we have investigated whether the capacity of hLf to interact with sCD14 could modulate the expression of endothelial-leukocyte adhesion molecule 1 (E-selectin) or intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) induced by the sCD14-LPS complex on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Our experiments show that hLf significantly inhibited both E-selectin and ICAM-1 expressions at the surface of HUVEC. In conclusion, these observations suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of hLf are due not only to the ability of the molecule to chelate LPS but also to its ability to interact with sCD14 and with the sCD14 complexed to LPS, thus modifying the activation of endothelial cells.

Phosphorylation of lipopolysaccharides in the Antarctic psychrotroph Pseudomonas syringae: a possible role in temperature adaptation

Phosphorylation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from a psychrotrophic bacterium, Pseudomonas syringae, from Antarctica was studied by using sucrose gradient-separated membrane fractions. The bacterium was found to possess an LPS kinase which could phosphorylate more LPS postsynthetically at higher temperatures. The phosphorylation was low at a lower temperature and was also found to occur in vivo. After phosphorylation of LPS in vitro, it was found that the major part of the radioactivity (> 85%) was associated with the core oligosaccharide region of the LPS. The phosphate groups of this region are probably involved in the binding of metal ions, which could be removed by EDTA. The cells grown at the lower temperature probably contained fewer divalent cations because of the smaller amount of phosphate and thereby were more sensitive to EDTA. The cells were also more sensitive to cationic antibiotics at the lower temperature. A possible role of this differential phosphorylation of LPS in modulating the function of the outer membrane as a permeability barrier in the psychrotroph is discussed.

Structural heterogeneity regarding local Shwartzman activity of lipid A

The relation of chemical structure to local Shwartzman activity of lipid A preparations purified by thin-layer chromatography from five bacterial strains was examined. Two lipid A fractions from E. coli F515--Ec-A2 and Ec-A3--exhibited strong activity, similar to that of previous synthetic E. coli-type lipid A (compound 506 or LA-15-PP). The Ec-A3 fraction contained a component that appeared to be structurally identical to compound 506, and the main component of Ec-A2 fraction was structurally similar to compound 506 except that it carried a 3-hydroxytetradecanoyl group at the C-3' position of the backbone in place of a 3-tetradecanoyloxytetradecanoyl group. Free lipid A (12 C) and purified lipid A fractions, Ec-A2 (12 C) and Ec-A3 (12 C), respectively, obtained from bacteria grown at 12 C, exhibited activity comparable to Ec-A2 or Ec-A3. In these preparations, a large part of the 3-dodecanoyloxytetradecanoyl group might be replaced by 3-hexadecenoyloxytetradecanoyl group. Salmonella minnesota R595 free lipid A also contained at least two active lipid A components as seen in E. coli lipid A, but the third component corresponding to the synthetic Salmonella-type lipid A (compound 516 or LA-16-PP) exhibited low activity. A lipid A fraction, Cv-A4 from Chromobacterium violaceum IFO 12614, which was proposed to have two acyloxyacyl groups at the C-2 and C-2' positions with other acyl groups, exhibited weaker activity than the free lipid A or LPS. The purified lipid A fractions from Pseudomonas diminuta JCM 2788 and Pseudomonas vesicularis JCM 1477 contained an unusual backbone with 2,3-diamino-2,3-dideoxy-D-glucose disaccharide phosphomonoester, and these lipid A (Pd-A3 and Pv-A3) exhibited strong activity comparable to the E. coli lipid A. Thus, the present results show that the local Shwartzman reaction can be expressed by partly different lipid A structures in both hydrophilic backbone and fatty acyl residues; when they have the same backbone the potency varies markedly depending on the structure of the acyl residues.

Detection of antibodies against lipopolysaccharides of Escherichia coli and Salmonella R and S strains by immunoblotting

Antisera raised against several smooth and rough strains of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium were tested against lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of homologous and heterologous strains. The LPS were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis, transferred to nitrocellulose paper, and overlaid with antisera. The results showed that antisera raised against smooth strains reacted with high- as well as low-molecular-weight bands of their corresponding LPS and showed very few cross-reactions. Anti-E. coli J5 antiserum cross-reacted with few strains in the core region. But, anti-S. typhimurium Ra antiserum cross-reacted with many more strains. When these sera were absorbed with either the homologous- or a heterologous-positive strain, reactions were abolished. It appears that reactions of anti-E. coli J5 antiserum and anti-S. typhimurium Ra antiserum with homologous and heterologous strains were not due to the same antibody. This immunoblotting technique proved to be a useful method to distinguish different antibodies in antiserum raised against LPS of gram-negative bacteria.

Antigenic heterogeneity of lipid A of Haemophilus influenzae

The chemical structure and biologic function of the lipid A portion of lipopolysaccharide are not identical among gram-negative bacteria. This study indicates that antigenically heterogeneous lipid A exists among strains of Haemophilus influenzae. An immunoglobulin G3 murine monoclonal antibody, 3D2, produced against a nontypable H. influenzae strain 3524 has specificity for a site on the lipid A portion of the H. influenzae lipopolysaccharide. With the Western blot and immunodot assay, 3D2 recognized this lipid A determinant on 14 of 24 (58%) of strains of nontypable H. influenzae and in 51 of 95 (54%) strains of H. influenzae type b. This lipid A epitope has a high degree of specificity for H. influenzae, since it is not present on the lipid A of 39 gram-negative strains from 14 non-Haemophilus species. In addition, studies of 36 strains of six Haemophilus species other than H. influenzae and 8 strains of 4 species of Actinobacillus did not contain the 3D2 epitope. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis with a kinetic assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay inhibition confirmed the antigenic heterogeneity of H. influenzae lipid A. Thin-layer chromatography demonstrated that the 3D2 epitope is associated with a chloroform-soluble lipid moiety in the lipid A. Fluorescent antibody analysis of H. influenzae indicated that the epitope is on the cell surface. The monoclonal antibody was not bactericidal for strain 3524, and it did not inhibit the bactericidal action of normal human serum against the same strain. These studies demonstrate that the lipid As of H. influenzae are antigenically heterogeneous.