Structural studies of the O-antigenic polysaccharides from the enteroaggregative Escherichia coli strain 94/D4 and the international type strain Escherichia coli O82 Original Research Article

The structure of the O-antigen polysaccharides (PS) from the enteroaggregative Escherichia coli strain 94/D4 and the international type strain E. coli O82 have been determined. Component analysis and 1H, 13C, and 31P NMR spectroscopy experiments were employed to elucidate the structure. Inter-residue correlations were determined by 1H, 13C-heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation, and 1H, 1H-NOESY experiments. d-GroA as a substituent is linked via its O-2 in a phosphodiester-linkage to O-6 of the α-d-Glcp residue. The PS is composed of tetrasaccharide repeating units with the following structure: →4)-α-d-Glcp6-(P-2-d-GroA)-(1→4)-β-d-Galp-(1→4)-β-d-Glcp-(1→3)-β-d-GlcpNAc-(1→ Cross-peaks of low intensity from an α-d-Glcp residue were present in the NMR spectra and spectral analysis indicates that they originate from the terminal residue of the polysaccharide. Consequently, the biological repeating unit has a 3-substituted N-acetyl-d-glucosamine residue at its reducing end. Enzyme immunoassay using specific anti-E. coli O82 rabbit sera showed identical reactivity to the LPS of the two strains, in agreement with the structural analysis of their O-antigen polysaccharides.