Structural studies of the putative O-specific polysaccharide of Acinetobacter baumannii O24 containing 5,7-diamino-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-L-glycero-D-galacto-nonulosonic acid.

A polysaccharide containing D-GlcN, 2-amino-2,6-dideoxy-L-galactose (L-FucN), and 7-acetamido-5-acylamino-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-L-glycero-D-galacto-nonulo sonic acid (LegAX), in which the acyl group (X) is either S-3-hydroxybutyryl (50%) or acetyl (50%), was isolated by mild acid hydrolysis treatment, followed by gel-permeation chromatography, of the water-soluble lipopolysaccharide from Acinetobacter baumannii serogroup O24. The polysaccharide, characterised by means of monosaccharide analyses, partial acid hydrolysis, methylation analysis and NMR studies, was shown to have a linear tetrasaccharide repeating unit, as depicted below. Serological tests indicated that the polymer corresponded to the O24 antigen. -->6)-alpha-D-GlcpNAc-(1-->3)-alpha-L-FucpNAc-(1-->3)-alpha-D-Glcp NAc-(1-->4)-beta-LegpAX-(1-->.