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PubMed1986

Mechanisms for inhibition of the generation of thrombin activity by sulfated polysaccharides.

Three mechanisms by which sulfated polysaccharides act as anticoagulants and possibly as antithrombotic agents have been described. These are the two heparin cofactor-dependent mechanisms involving the catalysis of the inhibition of various proteases of coagulation by either antithrombin III or heparin cofactor II. The third is a heparin cofactor-independent mechanism involving the inhibition of formation of prothrombinase and tenase complexes. Four sulfated polysaccharides previously shown to have anticoagulant and antithrombotic effects were assessed to determine which of the three mechanisms operate in the expression of their anticoagulant effects. To do this, [125I]prothrombin was added to undiluted human plasma, and the inhibition of [125I]prothrombin activation, or the catalysis of the formation of thrombin-inhibitor complexes was determined in plasma containing one of the four sulfated polysaccharides. Prothrombin activation was demonstrated by the formation of [125I]prothrombin fragment 1.2 and [125I]thrombin. The effect of the thrombin-specific inhibitor, D-Phe-L-Pro-L-ArgCH2Cl (PPACK), on prothrombin activation was also investigated to determine the role of thrombin-dependent feedback reactions on efficient prothrombin activation. Use of PPACK with sulfated polysaccharides also facilitated estimation of the role of the heparin cofactor-independent effects of sulfated polysaccharides on prothrombin activation. Three concentrations of each of the sulfated polysaccharides were used: 0.66, 6.6, and 66 micrograms/ml of plasma. PPACK (1.0 X 10(-6)M) completely inhibited both intrinsic and extrinsic prothrombin activation. The inhibition of prothrombin activation caused by PPACK was abolished when thrombin was added to the plasma before PPACK. These observations indicate that the presence of trace thrombin activity is critical for efficient prothrombin activation by both the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. All three concentrations of standard heparin completely inhibited the intrinsic activation of prothrombin. This inhibition was only partially abolished when thrombin was added to the plasma before heparin, indicating that heparin inhibits prothrombin activation both by catalyzing the inhibition of thrombin activity and by a heparin cofactor-independent mechanism. Heparan sulfate did not inhibit intrinsic prothrombin activation but catalyzed the inhibition of the thrombin generated by the formation of thrombin-antithrombin III complex. Dematan sulfate inhibited intrinsic prothrombin activation only at the highest concentration. At the two lower concentrations, dermatan sulfate catalyzed formation of thrombin-heparin cofactor II.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones↗

PubMed1989

Competitiveness of different polysaccharide utilization mutants of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron in the intestinal tracts of germfree mice.

Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, an obligate anaerobe found in high numbers in human colons, can utilize a variety of polysaccharides. To determine which type of polysaccharide contributes most to the nutrition of B. thetaiotaomicron in vivo, we isolated and characterized transposon-generated mutants deficient in the ability to use different polysaccharides. Some mutants were deficient in polysaccharide utilization because of the inability to utilize a component monosaccharide. These mutants included a mutant that was unable to utilize L-fucose (a component of goblet cell mucin), a mutant that was unable to utilize D-galactose (a component of raffinose, stachyose, arabinogalactan, and goblet cell mucin), and a mutant that was unable to utilize either glucuronic acid (a component of mucopolysaccharides) or galacturonic acid (a component of polygalacturonic acid or pectin). Other mutants were unable to use the polysaccharide but could use the component sugars. These included four mutants that were unable to utilize starch and one mutant that was unable to utilize polygalacturonic acid. The mutants were tested for the ability to compete with the wild type for colonization of the intestinal tracts of germfree mice. The only mutants against which the wild type competed successfully in the intestinal tracts of germfree mice were a galactose-negative mutant and a uronic acid-negative mutant. These mutations differed from the others tested in that they affected utilization of more than one type of polysaccharide.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

PubMed1976

Immunological and biochemical studies of meningococcal C polysaccharides isolated by diethylaminoethyl chromatography.

Meningococcal C polysaccharides isolated from the broth supernatant of C1+ and C1- strains by a combination of Sepharose 4B and diethylaminoethyl-52 chromatography are antigenically identical to the group C antigen isolated by the Cetavlon procedure. Immunizations result in the induction of precipitating, hemagglutinating, and bactericidal antibodies in rabbits and sheep and hemagglutinating and bactericidal antibodies in rabbits and sheep and hemagglutinating and bactericidal antibodies in gerbils. Selective destruction of C1- polysaccharides with neuraminidase has demonstrated that these antibodies are directed against the C polysaccharide. Neuraminidase digestions of the C1- polysaccharides resulted in release of up to 84% of the antigen as N-acetylneuraminic acid. C1+ polysaccharides proved to be more resistant to neuraminidase, requiring greater concentrations of enzyme and longer intervals of exposure for digestion. Chemical analysis of the C1+ and C1- polysaccharides indicated that they contain less than 0.5% protein and less than 0.5% nucleic acid.

Animals↗

PubMed1976

Chemical and immunological properties of the type f polysaccharide antigen of Streptococcus mutans.

The type-specific cell wall polysaccharide antigen was extracted, purified, and characterized from type f Streptococcus mutans strain OMZ175 and MT557. The antigen was extracted from lyophilized cells with 5% trichloroacetic acid at 85 C for 15 min or saline at 120 C for 30 min. The trichloroacetic acid antigen was chromatographically separated into three antigenic fractions on a diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex A-25 column. Antigen 1 (Ag1P), which was specific for type f antiserum, was further purified by passing through carboxymethyl-Sephadex C-25 and Sephadex G-200 columns. It was a polysaccharide composed of 49% rhamnose and 47% glucose. No reaction was obtained with anti-polyglycerophosphate (PGP) serum. Antigen 2 was reactive with both type f and PGP antisera and contained significant amounts of protein and phosphorus. Antigen 3 was reactive only with PGP antiserum and had no type specificity. The polysaccharide antigen gave a single precipitin band against type-specific antiserum on immunodiffusion and immunoelectrophoresis. The presence of alpha-1,6-glucosidic linkages was indicated by a 90% inhibition of the precipitin reaction by isomaltose and alpha-methyl-D-glucopyranoside, adsorption to and release from a concanavalin A-Sepharose column, and reaction with an S. mutans (type e) glucan antiserum. This antiserum was used to show that the type f polysaccharide antigen did not contain free glucan. An analysis of the antigen released from the antigen-glucan antiserum complex showed the presence of rhamnose and glucose. This released antigen also reacted with an f antiserum, which did not react with commercial dextran. The results show that the type f polysaccharide antigen is the first of those S. mutans type-specific polysaccharides identified to be immunologically related to an S. mutans glucan.

Antigens, Bacterial↗

PubMed1978

Immunochemical studies on a Mycoplasma pneumoniae polysaccharide fraction: cross-reactions with type 23 and 32 antipneumococcal rabbit sera.

Lipid-free polysaccharide fraction 2 extracted from Mycoplasma pneumoniae strain FH by Prescott et al. (J. Bacteriol. 91:2117-2115, 1966) was examined for its ability to cross-precipitate antibody from type-specific rabbit antipneumococcal sera types 1 to 34 inclusive. Cross-precipitation in type-specific pneumococcal anti-type 23 and anti-type 32 sera was examined in detail and could be attributed to a rhamnose-galactose-rich component of crude M. pneumoniae polysaccharide fraction 2 recovered from immunoprecipitates formed with anti-type 23 serum. Immunochemically isolated mycoplasma polysaccharide was found to contain glucose, galactose, rhamnose, and mannose in 1:14:5:4 molar proportions. Comparison of the ability of 6-O-alpha-L-rhamnosyl-D-glucose and free L-rhamnose to inhibit precepitation by homologous pneumococcal and heterologous mycoplasma polysaccharide antigens indicates a combining site specificity for anti-type 23 and anti-type 32 antibodies directed largely against the alpha-linked L-rhamnosyl determinants and the occurrence of alpha-L-rhamnosyl units in type 32 and M. pneumoniae polysaccharides. Hapten inhibition of the cross-precipitation of pneumococcal type 23 capsular polysaccharide in anti-type 32 serum helps to establish that cross-reactivity can be attributed to interaction of recurrent, alpha-L-rhamnosyl units of type 23 with anit-alpha-L-rhamnoside combining sites of anti-type 32 antibodies.

Antigens, Bacterial↗

PubMed1980

Concomitant but not causal association between surface charge and inhibition of phagocytosis by cryptococcal polysaccharide.

The mechanism by which capsular polysaccharides inhibit phagocytosis is not clearly understood. We investigated the association between a negative surface charge and inhibition of phagocytosis by the capsular polysaccharide of Cryptococcus neoformans. A two-polymer aqueous-phase system containing phosphate ions was used to assess surface charge. Opsonins such as normal bovine serum and normal human immunoglobulin G reduced the surface charge on non-encapsulated cryptococci and simultaneously enhanced phagocytosis. These same opsonins had no effect on phagocytosis or surface charge of encapsulated cryptococci. F (ab')(2) fragments of normal human immunoglobulin G neither enhanced phagocytosis nor altered the surface charge of non-encapsulated cryptococci. Addition of purified cryptococcal polysaccharide to non-encapsulated cells inhibited phagocytosis of the yeast and induced a strong negative charge at the yeast surface. Chemical modification to reduce the surface charge of either purified cryptococcal polysaccharide or intact encapsulated cryptococci produced a small loss of phagocytosis-inhibiting activity; however, all treated polysaccharide preparations retained a significant ability to inhibit phagocytosis of the yeast. These results indicated that the association between surface charge and inhibition of phagocytosis was largely circumstantial, and presence of a negative surface charge could not account for the powerful antiphagocytic action of cryptococcal polysaccharide.

Cell Membrane↗

PubMed1982

Antibody responses in adult volunteers to pneumococcal polysaccharide types 19F and 19A administered singly and in combination.

The immunogenicity of the two major group 19 pneumococcal polysaccharides, types 19F and 19A, was studied in human volunteers. Antibody responses after vaccination with either 50 micrograms of type 19F polysaccharide, 50 micrograms of type 19A polysaccharide, or 25 micrograms of both polysaccharides premixed in a single injection revealed that the combined vaccine was immunogenic for both types, but that the optimal immunogen for each was the homologous polysaccharide. We concluded that vaccination with type 19F polysaccharide antigen, included in the current pneumococcal vaccine, does not induce a satisfactory heteroimmunogenic response to type 19A.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗

PubMed1983

Chemical characterization of extracellular polysaccharides produced by Actinomyces viscosus T14V and T14Av.

The human isolates Actinomyces viscosus T14V and T14Av produced extracellular polysaccharides in the absence of sucrose. In contrast to strain T14V, strain T14Av produced abundant viscous slime polysaccharide in the culture supernatant fluids when grown in a chemically defined medium containing glucose. After resolution of the T14Av polysaccharides into seven fractions, it was demonstrated that two of these exhibited viscous properties and lacked methylpentose and muramic acid. The major slime polysaccharide purified by gel filtration and ion-exchange column chromatography contained 39% (moles percent carbohydrate) galactose, 37% N-acetylglucosamine, 19% glucose, and 5% mannose. Only trace amounts of protein and phosphorus were detected in this preparation. On the other hand, strain T14V produced negligible slime polysaccharide under the same culture conditions. The major extracellular polysaccharide fraction from this strain contained methylpentoses, hexoses, hexosamines, muramic acid, protein, and phosphorus, suggesting that this fraction might be derived from the cell wall.

Actinomyces↗

PubMed1983

Further studies on the immunogenicity of Haemophilus influenzae type b and pneumococcal type 6A polysaccharide-protein conjugates.

Conjugates were prepared by carbodiimide-mediated coupling of adipic acid hydrazide derivatives of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Escherichia coli K100, and pneumococcal 6A (Pn6A) polysaccharides with tetanus toxoid (TT), as an example of a "useful" carrier, and horseshoe crab hemocyanin (HCH), as an example of a "nonsense" carrier. These conjugates were injected into NIH mice, and their serum antibody responses to the polysaccharides and proteins were characterized. As originally reported, Hib conjugates increased the immunogenicity of the capsular polysaccharide and elicited greater than the estimated protective levels of anti-Hib antibodies in most recipients after one injection and in all after the third injection (Schneerson et al., J. Exp. Med. 152:361-376, 1980). Both Hib conjugates induced similar anti-Hib responses. The K100-HCH conjugate was more immunogenic than the K100-TT conjugate and elicited anti-Hib responses similar to the Hib conjugates after the third injection. Simultaneous injection of the K100 and the Hib conjugates did not enhance the anti-Hib response. The Pn6A-TT conjugate induced low levels of anti-Hib antibodies; when injected simultaneously with the Hib conjugates, the anti-Hib response was enhanced, as all mice responded after the first injection and with higher levels of anti-Hib than observed with the Hib conjugates alone (P < 0.05). The Pn6A conjugates were not as immunogenic as the Hib conjugates. Pn6A-TT was more effective than was Pn6A-HCH; it elicited anti-Pn6A (>100 ng of antibody nitrogen per ml) in 6 of 10 mice after the third injection. The addition of the Hib-HCH conjugate to the Pn6A-TT conjugate increased the anti-Pn6A response with a higher geometric mean antibody titer, and 9 of 10 mice responded after the third injection. A preparation of diphtheria toxoid, TT, and pertussis vaccine increased the anti-Hib antibody levels after the first injection only in mice receiving Hib-TT, but not in mice receiving Hib-HCH, suggesting that additional carrier protein (TT) enhanced the anti-polysaccharide response. Simultaneous injection of Hib and Pn6A conjugates with the same or different carriers resulted in an enhanced serum antibody response to each polysaccharide. The anti-tetanus toxin response reached protective levels (>0.01 U/ml) in most mice after the first injection and in all mice after the second and third injections of TT conjugates. A progressive increase in the anti-HCH response with each additional injection was noted in animals receiving HCH conjugates. Animals receiving the diphtheria toxoid-TT-pertussis vaccine preparation responded with a greater increase in anti-carrier antibody than those receiving the conjugates alone. This method of synthesis provided conjugates capable of inducing protective levels of antibodies to both the polysaccharides and carrier proteins.

Animals↗

PubMed1983

Preparation and physicochemical and immunological characterization of polysaccharide-outer membrane protein complexes of Neisseria meningitidis.

A crude complex containing group C polysaccharide, outer membrane proteins, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was isolated from the cell-free culture liquid of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C, serotype 2a. Group C polysaccharide and LPS were removed from this complex, resulting in an outer membrane complex and a purified complex, respectively. Analysis by electron microscopy showed the outer membrane origin of the crude complex and the outer membrane complex, whereas such a structure was absent in the purified complex. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis patterns of the three complexes were identical. Pyrolysis-mass spectrometry data correlated well with those obtained by the biochemical assays and suggested a low LPS content in the purified complex and a low polysaccharide content in the outer membrane complex. The purified complex was shown to be nonpyrogenic and could be prepared with the same yield as that of purified polysaccharide. The immunogenic activities of the complexes were studied in mice. The antibodies were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; and the bactericidal antibody assay. All complexes induced immunoglobulin G antibodies to group C polysaccharide as well as to the serotype antigen, although the removal of polysaccharide and LPS resulted in a reduction of the immunogenic activities of outer membrane complex and purified complex, respectively. A second dose of all complexes produced a clear booster effect of both antibody responses. The antibodies were bactericidal.

Animals↗

PubMed1983

Preparation and immunochemical characterization of meningococcal group C polysaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugates as a new generation of vaccines.

Neisseria meningitidis group C polysaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugates have been prepared by using high-molecular-weight polysaccharide and purified tetanus toxoid and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide as a coupling reagent. The influence of three conditions of preparation was studied. Biochemical assays, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and isopycnic CsCl gradient ultracentrifugation have been used to characterize the conjugates. The polysaccharide-to-protein ratios of the various conjugate preparations showed differences. The ability of the group C polysaccharide component to react with specific antibodies was reduced, whereas most of the tetanus toxoid seemed to be hidden by the polysaccharide. The composition of the conjugate was not homogeneous, and at least 10% of free polysaccharide was present. Thermostability in lyophilized condition in the presence of lactose was excellent.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Chemical characterization and immunogenicity of capsular polysaccharide isolated from mucoid Staphylococcus aureus.

In this study we report the isolation and purification of the capsular polysaccharide elaborated by Staphylococcus aureus SA1 mucoid. The capsule was isolated from bacterial extracts and culture supernatants by a series of ethanol precipitations and enzyme digestions, followed by ion-exchange chromatography. Teichoic acid contamination was eliminated by oxidation with sodium metaperiodate, and the final product eluted in the void volume of a Sephacryl S-300 column. The purified capsular polysaccharide was analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy, 13C and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance, amino acid analysis, immunelectrophoresis, and numerous biochemical assays. The major constituents of the capsule were 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-alpha-galacturonic acid (4-O linked), 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-alpha-fucose (3-O linked), and taurine. The polysaccharide also contained O-acetyl groups which were removed by mild alkaline hydrolysis. Serologically and biochemically, the capsule from strain SA1 mucoid appeared very similar to that produced by strain M. Purified capsular polysaccharide was immunogenic in both rabbits and mice. The optimal immunizing dose in mice was 0.1 microgram of purified capsular polysaccharide administered intraperitoneally. SA1 mucoid resisted opsonophagocytic killing by human leukocytes and complement. However, antibodies raised to the purified capsular polysaccharide neutralized the antiphagocytic effect of the capsule.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Development and characterization of an anti-idiotype antibody to the capsular polysaccharide of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C.

A monoclonal anti-idiotypic antibody (Ab2) whose antibody combining site contained a surrogate image of the meningococcal group C capsular polysaccharide was developed. To accomplish this, a monoclonal antibody against the group C capsular polysaccharide was developed by the fusion of splenocytes from mice immunized with Neisseria meningitidis group C strain MP13 with Sp2/0-Ag14 plasmacytoma cells. Monoclonal antibody 1E4, an immunoglobulin M isotype, demonstrated binding to the serogroup C polysaccharide in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Monoclonal antibody 1E4 reacted with 30 of 30 group C strains and 1 of 36 group B strains in immunodot assay, slide agglutination, inhibition ELISA, and bactericidal assay. This monoclonal antibody was selected as idiotype (Ab1) for the development of hybridomas producing an anti-idiotype antibody. One of the hybridomas developed, designated 6F9, was capable of over 70% inhibition of 1E4 in binding in the meningococcal C polysaccharide-specific ELISA. Studies with convalescent human serum demonstrated 100% inhibition of a serogroup C-specific ELISA with 200 micrograms of 6F9 per ml and 50% inhibition of this ELISA was achieved with 50 micrograms of 6F9 per ml. Monoclonal anti-idiotype antibodies (Ab3) with specificities similar to Ab1, 1E4 were generated from BALB/c mice immunized with the Ab2 (6F9). Immunization of rabbits with 6F9 resulted in an immunoglobulin G response which was significantly greater than that of control to a titer of 1:160. These studies indicate that monoclonal 6F9 contained a surrogate image on the combining antibody site which mimicked meningococcal C polysaccharide. This surrogate image is capable of evoking antibodies to the meningococcal C polysaccharide in syngenic and xenogenic species.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Isolation, structure, and immunogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa immunotype 4 high-molecular-weight polysaccharide.

A high-molecular-weight, immunogenic form of the lipopolysaccharide O side chain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Fisher immunotype 4 (type 4, International Antigenic Typing System 1, Lanyi O:6) was isolated and characterized. Analysis by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy confirmed the structural similarity of this high-molecular-weight polysaccharide and the type 4 O side chain. The polysaccharide was immunogenic in rabbits and mice, eliciting opsonophagocytic killing antibodies. Immunization with the polysaccharide produced significant protection against homologous challenge in both burned and granulocytopenic mice. Naturally acquired opsonic killing antibodies to type 4 polysaccharide were present in sera from unimmunized normal adults at levels comparable to postimmunization levels achieved after immunization with other type-specific polysaccharides. The specificity of the naturally occurring antibodies for the O side chain was documented by immunoblot analysis and inhibition studies. Naturally occurring polysaccharide-specific antibodies were comparable in their protective activity against live challenge in neutropenic animals to immunization-induced murine antibodies with similar specificity. These data suggest that naturally occurring serum antibody to P. aeruginosa type 4 lipopolysaccharide O side chains in most adults is not distinguishable in quantity or quality from immunization-induced antibodies in mice; evaluation of type 4-specific vaccines in humans may be complicated by this finding.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Evidence that the serotype b antigenic determinant of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Y4 resides in the polysaccharide moiety of lipopolysaccharide.

A high-molecular-weight polysaccharide-containing antigen was isolated from a phenol-water extract of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans ATCC 43718 (formerly Y4) by gel permeation chromatography in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-disaggregating buffer. The polysaccharide antigen formed a precipitin band with rabbit serotype b-specific antiserum but not with rabbit antisera to serotype a or c. Electroblotted serotype b antigen was probed with serum from a patient with localized juvenile periodontitis (LJP), resulting in a diffuse "smear" in the upper region of the lane. By utilizing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, it was demonstrated that the geometric mean immunoglobulin G antibody titer to the serotype b polysaccharide was significantly higher in sera from LJP patients than in sera from periodontally healthy individuals. Moreover, LJP antibody titers to the serotype b polysaccharide exhibited age-dependent variation. Double immunodiffusion analysis revealed that the serotype b antigen formed a line of identity with low-molecular-weight LPS following reaction with serotype b-specific antiserum. Incubation of LJP serum in the presence of a lipid-free polysaccharide moiety obtained by mild acid hydrolysis of LPS from A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 markedly reduced immunoglobulin G titer to the serotype b antigen. In contrast, solubilized lipid A was only weakly inhibitory. The results of this study indicate that the serotype b-specific determinant of A. actinomycetemcomitans resides in the polysaccharide moiety of LPS and represents a major target for immunoglobulin G antibody in serum of LJP subjects colonized by this organism.

Actinobacillus↗

PubMed1994

Induction of tumor necrosis factor alpha by the group- and type-specific polysaccharides from type III group B streptococci.

Previous studies suggested that circulating tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) may have a pathophysiologic role in experimental neonatal sepsis induced by group B streptococci (GBS). This study was undertaken to investigate the ability of the type III and group-specific polysaccharides of GBS to induce TNF-alpha production and TNF-alpha-dependent lethality in neonatal rats. The cytokine was detected in plasma samples by the L929 cytotoxicity assay. Intracardiac injections of either polysaccharide induced dose-dependent, transient elevations in plasma TNF-alpha levels that returned to baseline values after 5 h. The group-specific antigen induced significantly higher mean peak TNF-alpha levels than the type III antigen (125 +/- 47 versus 44 +/- 15 U/ml with 70 mg/kg of body weight). Glycogen (70 mg/kg), used as a negative control, did not induce TNF-alpha. The lipopolysaccharide-neutralizing agent polymyxin B did not decrease TNF-alpha levels induced by either polysaccharide, ruling out contamination with endotoxin as a possible cause of TNF-alpha induction. Fifty percent lethal doses of the type III and group-specific antigens given as intracardiac injections were 105 and 16 mg/kg, respectively. Salmonella endotoxin, used as a positive control, had a 50% lethal dose of 0.1 mg/kg. The lethal activities of GBS polysaccharides, as well as endotoxin, were completely prevented by pretreatment of neonatal rats with the respective specific antibodies or anti-murine TNF-alpha serum. To assess the relative importance of the type-specific substance in TNF-alpha induction by whole bacteria, two unrelated GBS transposon mutants devoid of only the type-specific capsular polysaccharide (COH1-13 and COH31-15) were employed. Each of the heat-killed unencapsulated mutants was able to produce plasma TNF-alpha level elevations or TNF-alpha-dependent lethality but was significantly less efficient in these activities than the corresponding encapsulated wild-type strain. These data suggest that the presence of type-specific material on GBS is not necessary for the stimulation of TNF-alpha production. Type III capsular polysaccharide, however, can significantly increase the ability of GBS to induce TNF-alpha. Further studies will be needed to assess the importance of TNF-alpha induction by the group- and type-specific antigens in the pathophysiology of GBS disease.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Structure-function relationships for polysaccharide-induced intra-abdominal abscesses.

We have previously shown that in an animal model of sepsis positively and negatively charged groups on polysaccharide A of Bacteroides fragilis are essential for the induction of intra-abdominal abscess formation (A. O. Tzianabos, A. B. Onderdonk, B. Rosner, R. L. Cisneros, and D. L. Kasper, Science 262:416-419, 1993). By introducing chemical modifications into the structures of B. fragilis polysaccharide B as well as other abscess-inducing bacterial polysaccharides, we observed the following. (i) The presence of a nonacetylated free amino group on these polysaccharides appears to be required for abscess induction. (ii) No specific type of negatively charged group is essential to abscess induction by these polysaccharides. (iii) The density of free amino groups on these polysaccharides influences this pathobiologic host response.

Abdomen↗

PubMed2000

CpG oligodeoxynucleotides act as adjuvants for pneumococcal polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines and enhance antipolysaccharide immunoglobulin G2a (IgG2a) and IgG3 antibodies.

Pneumococcal polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines elicit antipolysaccharide antibodies, but multiple doses are required to achieve protective antibody levels in children. In addition, the immunogenicity of experimental multivalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines varies with different polysaccharide serotypes. One strategy to improve these vaccines is to incorporate an adjuvant to enhance their immunogenicity. Synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides containing unmethylated CpG motifs (CpG ODN) are adjuvants that promote T-cell and T-dependent antibody responses to protein antigens, but it has been unclear whether CpG ODN can enhance polysaccharide-specific antibody responses. The present studies demonstrate significant adjuvant activity of CpG ODN for antibody responses against Streptococcus pneumoniae polysaccharide types 19F and 6B induced by conjugates of 19F and 6B with the protein carrier CRM(197). BALB/c ByJ mice were injected with 19F-CRM(197) or 6B-CRM(197) with or without CpG ODN, and sera were tested for anti-19F or anti-6B antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The polysaccharide-specific antibody response to 19F-CRM(197) alone was predominantly of the immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) and IgM isotypes, but addition of CpG ODN markedly increased geometric mean titers of total anti-19F antibody (23-fold), anti-19F IgG2a (26-fold), and anti-19F IgG3 (>246-fold). The polysaccharide-specific antibody response to 6B-CRM(197) alone consisted only of IgM, but addition of CpG ODN induced high titers of anti-6B IgG1 (>78-fold increase), anti-6B IgG2a (>54-fold increase), and anti-6B IgG3 (>3,162-fold increase). CpG ODN also increased anti-CRM(197) IgG2a and IgG3. Adjuvant effects were not observed with control non-CpG ODN. Thus, CpG ODN significantly enhance antipolysaccharide IgG responses (especially IgG2a and IgG3) induced by these glycoconjugate vaccines.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗