| Campylobacter jejuni infections are a leading cause of gastroenteritis in humans and usually lead to more severe neurological disorders such as Guillain-Barre and Miller-Fisher syndromes. The capsular polysaccharides of C. jejuni are thought to play a role in disease pathogenesis, and antibodies to the capsular entities have been detected in humans. In this research, the full structure of C. jejuni serotype HS:4 (strain CG8486) was studied in order to employ it in a multivalent anti-C. jejuni vaccine. The structure of capsular polysaccharide of serotype HS:4 was characterized by a series of chemical, analytical, spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques. It consists of a disaccharide repeating unit composed of 3-substituted beta-6-deoxy-D-ido-heptose and 4-substituted beta-D-N-acetyl glucosamine with a terminal beta-D-N-acetyl glucosamine branch and phosphoramidate groups as a structural moiety. This 6-deoxy-heptose constituent is the first characterization with unusual D- ido configuration in microorganism. |
