Somatic antigens of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The structure of O-specific polysaccharide chains of the lipopolysaccharides from P. aeruginosa O5 (Lanyi) and immunotype 6 (Fisher)

Abstract
Lipolysaccharides were isolated from dry bacterial cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa O5a,b,c, O5a,b,d, O5a,d (Lanyi classification) and immunotype 6 (Fisher classification) by the Westphal procedure. Their polysaccharide chains were built up of trisaccharide repeating units containing D-xylose, 2-acetamido-2,6-dideoxy-D-galactose and a new sialic acid-like sugar, the di-N-acyl derivative of 5,7-diamino-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-L-glycero-L-manno-nonulosonic (pseudaminic) acid. Formyl, acetyl and (R)-3-hydroxybutyryl groups were identified as the N-acyl substituents of the last monosaccharide; O5a,b,c and O5a,b, d lipopolysaccharides also contained O-acetyl groups. The glycosidic linkage of pseudaminic acid was extremely labile towards acids, and mild acid degradation of the lipopolysaccharides produced, instead of the O-specific polysaccharides, their trisaccharide fragments with pseudaminic acid at the reducing terminus. Similar degradation of immunotype 6 lipopolysaccharides, followed by oxidation with sodium metaperiodate, resulted in a disaccharide fragment due to destruction of xylose. In constrast the glycosidic linkage of pseudaminic acid proved to be more stable towards treatments with hydrogen fluoride than those of xylose and N-acetylfucosamine. As a result, solvolysis of immunotype 6 lipopolysaccharide with hydrogen fluoride in methanol gave methyl glycosides of a disaccharide and a trisaccharide with pseudaminic acid at the non-reducing terminus. Mild acid hydrolysis of these oligosides afforded free 5-N-acetyl-7-N-formylpseudaminic acid, which was identified by the 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance data, as well as by the mass spectrum of the corresponding fully methylated aldonic acid. As a result of the identification of all oligosaccharides obtained and comparative analysis of the 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the oligosaccharides and lipopolysaccharides the structures were established for the repeating units of the polysaccharide chains of the lipopolysaccharides.