PMID: 30141882Nov 1, 2016Paper

Structure, Function and Biological Activity of Lipopolysaccharide Lipid A

Mikrobiolohichnyĭ zhurnal. = Mikrobiologichny zhurnal
L D Varbanets

Abstract

Bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are the major outer surface membrane components present in almost all gram-negative bacteria. It consists of poly- or oligosaccharide region that is anchored in the outer membrane by a specific lipid moiety termed lipid A. Recent studies have shown that it is only the lipid A of LPS that has the function of endotoxin. Despite its general structural conservation, lipid A also has considerable structural microheterogeneity which can vary depending on diverse factors including bacterial adaptation to changing environment and external stimuli, incomplete biosynthesis, and breakdown products and/or chemical modifications. Therefore it is more appropriate to consider lipid A as a family of structurally related molecular species with different acylation and phosphorylation patterns rather than as an individual, homogeneous molecule. The studies of structure-function relationship of lipid A, which has the typical structure of E. coli type lipid A backbone, demonstrated that activities differed depending on: 1) the number of phosphoryl and acyl residues, 2) the substituted site of phosphoryl and acyl residues, 3) the chain length of acyl residues, 4) lipid A conformation. Current investigations showed...Continue Reading

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