Previous structural investigations performed on the lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) from the human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori have revealed that these cell surface glycan molecules express type 2 partially fucosylated, glucosylated, or galactosylated N-acetyllactosamine O antigen chains (O-chains) of various lengths, which may or may not be terminated at the nonreducing end by Lewis X (Lex) and/or Ley blood group epitopes in mimicry of human cell surface glycoconjugates and glycolipids. Subsequently, serological experiments with commercially available Lewis-specific monoclonal antibodies also have recognized the presence of Lex and Ley blood group antigens in H. pylori but, in addition, have indicated the presence of type 1 chain Lea, Leb, and Led (H-type 1) blood group epitopes in some H. pylori strains. To confirm their presence, structural studies and additional serological experiments were undertaken on H. pylori strains suspected of carrying type 1 chain epitopes. These investigations revealed that the O-chain region of H. pylori strain UA948 carried both Lea (type 1) and Lex (type 2) blood group determinants. The O-chain from H. pylori UA955 LPS expressed the terminal Lewis disaccharide (type 1 chain) and Lex and Ley antigens (type 2). The O-chain of H. pylori J223 LPS carried the type 1 chain precursor Lec, the H-1 epitope (Led, type 1 chain) and an elongated nonfucosylated type 2 N-acetyllactosamine chain (i antigen). Thus, O-chains from H. pylori LPSs can also express fucosylated type 1 sequences, and the LPS from a single H. pylori strain may carry O-chains with type 1 and 2 Lewis blood groups simultaneously. That monoclonal antibodies putatively specific for the Leb determinant can detect glycan substructures (Le disaccharide, Lec, and Led) of Leb indicates their nonspecificity. The expression of both type 1 and 2 Lewis antigens by H. pylori LPSs mimics the cell surface glycomolecules present in both the gastric superficial (which expresses mainly type 1 determinants) and the superficial and glandular epithelium regions (both of which express predominantly type 2 determinants). Therefore, each H. pylori strain may have a different niche within the gastric mucosa, and each individual LPS blood group antigen may have a dissimilar role in H. pylori adaptation.
antigen, lipopolysaccharides, expression, type, Helicobacter pylori, Helicobacter, Lewis, blood group antigens
NCBI PubMed ID: 9565568Journal NLM ID: 2985121RPublisher: Baltimore, MD: American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Correspondence: Mario.Monteiro@nrc.ca
Institutions: Department of Microbiology, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland, Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network, b Institute for Biological Sciences, National Research Council, Ottawa, K1A 0R6 Ontario, Canada, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2H7 Alberta, Canada, Department of Medical Microbiology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Division of Gastroenterology, Zurich University Scool of Medicine, Zurich, Switzerland, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
Methods: 1H NMR, FAB-MS, ELISA, GLC, immunoblotting
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