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Chemical Composition and Immunological Specificity of the Streptococcal Group O Cell Wall Polysaccharide Antigen

¹ Department of Microbiology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois 60611

ABSTRACT

The group O streptococcal group antigen was shown to be a polysaccharide located in the cell wall of the organism. The antigen could be extracted by one of several methods: (i) 0.5 N NaOH at 37 C, (ii) phenol-water (50:50) at 68 C, (iii) 0.2 N HCl at 100 C, or (iv) 10% trichloroacetic acid at 4 C. The last method yielded more polysaccharide with less protein contamination. The polysaccharide was purified on diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex A-25 and Sephadex G-200. It was composed of two-thirds glucosamine and galactosamine, and the remainder glucose plus galactose. Rhamnose, glycerol, ribitol, and muramic acid were absent. Total phosphorus and amino acids were each less than 0.1%. N-Acetyl-ß-D-glucosamine exerted a strong inhibition of the precipitin reaction and is considered the immunodominant sugar. Glucosamine and glucose possessed a partial inhibitory activity. Galactose and galactosamine were essentially negative. No evidence of cross-reactivity was found between the O polysaccharide and group A and L polysaccharides, and group A and Staphylococcus aureus teichoic acids, which posesss N-acetylglucosamine specificity. The release of limited quantities of N-acetyl-glucosamine from its terminal location by enzyme, and glucose by acid hydrolysis, indicates a limited number of side chains in the O antigen. The glucosamine is in acid-stable linkage in the polysaccharide. Glucose was not released by ß-glucosidase and probably does not occupy a terminal position. The O antigen is the only known streptococcal polysaccharide antigen which does not contain rhamnose. The effect of these factors on the immunological specificity is discussed. O serum, after adsorption with the purified polysaccharide, was used to demonstrate the presence of protein antigens in acid extracts of cells from each of the nine strains examined. These antigens may represent type antigens. Two of these strains, originally described as group O, did not contain the O polysaccharide.