Glycosphingolipid binding specificities of Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae: Detection, isolation, and characterization of a binding-active glycosphingolipid from human oropharyngeal epithelium
S. Hugosson et al., Glycosphingolipid binding specificities of Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae: Detection, isolation, and characterization of a binding-active glycosphingolipid from human oropharyngeal epithelium, J BIOCHEM, 124(6), 1998, pp. 1138-1152
The glycosphingolipid binding specificities of Haemophilus influenzae and N
eisseria meningitidis were investigated as to the binding of radiolabeled b
acteria to glycosphingolipids on thin-layer chromatograms. Thereby, similar
binding profiles, for the binding of the two bacteria to lactosylceramide,
isoglobotriaosylceramide, gangliotriaosylceramide, gangliotetraosylceramid
e, lactotetraosylceramide, neolactotetraosylceramide, and sialylneolactohex
aosylceramide, were obtained. On a closer view the binding preferences of t
he bacteria could be differentiated into three groups. The first specificit
y is recognition of lactosylceramide, The second specificity is binding to
gangliotriaosylceramide and gangliotetraosylceramide, since conversion of t
he acetamido group of the N-acetylgalactosamine of gangliotriaosylceramide
and gangliotetraosylceramide to an amine prevented the binding of the bacte
ria, and thus the binding to these two glycosphingolipids represents a sepa
rate specificity from lactosylceramide recognition. Preincubation of H, inf
luenzae with neolactotetraose inhibited the binding to neolactotetraosylcer
amide, while the binding to lactosylceramide, gangliotetraosylceramide, or
lactotetraosylceramide was unaffected. Thus, the third binding specificity
is represented by neolactotetraosylceramide, and involves recognition of ot
her neolacto series glycosphingolipids with linear N-acetyllactosamine chai
ns, such as sialyl-neolactohexaosylceramide. The relevance of the detected
binding specificities for adhesion to target cells was addressed as to the
binding of the bacteria to glycosphingolipids from human granulocytes, epit
helial cells of human nasopharyngeal tonsils and human plexus choroideus, B
inding-active neolactotetraosylceramide was thereby detected in human granu
locytes and the oropharyngeal epithelium.