Bordetella holmesii Lipopolysaccharide Hide and Seek Game with Pertussis: Structural Analysis of the O-Specific Polysaccharide and the Core Oligosaccharide of the Type Strain ATCC 51541

MALDI glycotyping of O-antigens from a single colony of gram-negative bacteria

Polypeptide-targeted MALDI-TOF MS for microbial species identification has revolutionized microbiology. However, no practical MALDI-TOF MS identification method for O-antigen polysaccharides, a major indicator for epidemiological classification within a species of gram-negative bacteria, is available. We describe a simple MALDI glycotyping method for O-antigens that simultaneously identifies the molecular mass of the repeating units and the monosaccharide composition of the O-antigen. We analyzed the Escherichia coli O1, O6, and O157-type strains. Conventional species identification based on polypeptide patterns and O-antigen polysaccharide typing can be performed in parallel from a single colony using our MALDI-TOF MS workflow. Moreover, subtyping within the same O-antigen and parallel colony-specific O-antigen determination from mixed strains, including the simultaneous identification of multiple strains-derived O-antigens within selected colony, were performed. In MALDI glycotyping of two Enterobacteriaceae strains, a Citrobacter freundii strain serologically cross-reactive with E. coli O157 gave a MALDI spectral pattern identical to E. coli O157. On the other hand, an Edwardsiella tarda strain with no reported O-antigen cross-reactivity gave a MALDI spectral pattern of unknown O-antigen repeating units. The method described in this study allows the parallel and rapid identification of microbial genera, species, and serotypes of surface polysaccharides using a single MALDI-TOF MS instrument.

Bordetella holmesii: Causative agent of pertussis

Bordetella holmesii is a bacterium recently recognized in 1995. It is a gram-negative coccobacillus that can cause pertussis-like symptoms in humans as well as invasive infections. It is often confused with Bordetella pertussis because routine diagnostic tests for whooping cough are not species-specific. The prevalence of B. holmesii as a cause of pertussis has increased in several countries. Therefore, B. holmesii assays are important for determining the epidemiology of pertussis, for the choice of an effective treatment, and for detecting vaccination failures.

Bordetella bronchiseptica and Bordetella pertussis: Similarities and Differences in Infection, Immuno-Modulation, and Vaccine Considerations

Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica belong to the genus Bordetella, which comprises 14 other species. B. pertussis is responsible for whooping cough in humans, a severe infection in children and less severe or chronic in adults. These infections are restricted to humans and currently increasing worldwide. B. bronchiseptica is involved in diverse respiratory infections in a wide range of mammals. For instance, the canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC), characterized by a chronic cough in dogs. At the same time, it is increasingly implicated in human infections, while remaining an important pathogen in the veterinary field. Both Bordetella can evade and modulate host immune responses to support their persistence, although it is more pronounced in B. bronchiseptica infection. The protective immune responses elicited by both pathogens are comparable, while there are important characteristics in the mechanisms that differ. However, B. pertussis pathogenesis is more difficult to decipher in animal models than those of B. bronchiseptica because of its restriction to humans. Nevertheless, the licensed vaccines for each Bordetella are different in terms of formulation, route of administration and immune responses induced, with no known cross-reaction between them. Moreover, the target of the mucosal tissues and the induction of long-lasting cellular and humoral responses are required to control and eliminate Bordetella. In addition, the interaction between both veterinary and human fields are essential for the control of this genus, by preventing the infections in animals and the subsequent zoonotic transmission to humans.

Cyanobacterial Harmful Bloom Lipopolysaccharides Induce Pro-Inflammatory Effects in Immune and Intestinal Epithelial Cells In Vitro

Freshwater cyanobacterial harmful blooms (CyanoHABs) produce a variety of toxic and bioactive compounds including lipopolysaccharides (LPSs). The gastrointestinal tract can be exposed to them via contaminated water even during recreational activities. However, there is no evidence of an effect of CyanoHAB LPSs on intestinal cells. We isolated LPSs of four CyanoHABs dominated by different cyanobacterial species and LPSs of four laboratory cultures representing the respective dominant cyanobacterial genera. Two intestinal and one macrophage cell lines were used to detect in vitro pro-inflammatory activity of the LPS. All LPSs isolated from CyanoHABs and laboratory cultures induced cytokines production in at least one in vitro model, except for LPSs from the Microcystis PCC7806 culture. LPSs isolated from cyanobacteria showed unique migration patterns in SDS-PAGE that were qualitatively distinct from those of endotoxins from Gram-negative bacteria. There was no clear relationship between the biological activity of the LPS and the share of genomic DNA of Gram-negative bacteria in the respective biomass. Thus, the total share of Gram-negative bacteria, or the presence of Escherichia coli-like LPSs, did not explain the observed pro-inflammatory activities. The pro-inflammatory properties of environmental mixtures of LPSs from CyanoHABs indicate their human health hazards, and further attention should be given to their assessment and monitoring.

Primary Structure of Glycans by NMR Spectroscopy

Glycans, carbohydrate molecules in the realm of biology, are present as biomedically important glycoconjugates and a characteristic aspect is that their structures in many instances are branched. In determining the primary structure of a glycan, the sugar components including the absolute configuration and ring form, anomeric configuration, linkage(s), sequence, and substituents should be elucidated. Solution state NMR spectroscopy offers a unique opportunity to resolve all these aspects at atomic resolution. During the last two decades, advancement of both NMR experiments and spectrometer hardware have made it possible to unravel carbohydrate structure more efficiently. These developments applicable to glycans include, inter alia, NMR experiments that reduce spectral overlap, use selective excitations, record tilted projections of multidimensional spectra, acquire spectra by multiple receivers, utilize polarization by fast-pulsing techniques, concatenate pulse-sequence modules to acquire several spectra in a single measurement, acquire pure shift correlated spectra devoid of scalar couplings, employ stable isotope labeling to efficiently obtain homo- and/or heteronuclear correlations, as well as those that rely on dipolar cross-correlated interactions for sequential information. Refined computer programs for NMR spin simulation and chemical shift prediction aid the structural elucidation of glycans, which are notorious for their limited spectral dispersion. Hardware developments include cryogenically cold probes and dynamic nuclear polarization techniques, both resulting in enhanced sensitivity as well as ultrahigh field NMR spectrometers with a ¹H NMR resonance frequency higher than 1 GHz, thus improving resolution of resonances. Taken together, the developments have made and will in the future make it possible to elucidate carbohydrate structure in great detail, thereby forming the basis for understanding of how glycans interact with other molecules.

Conserved Structural Features of Core Oligosaccharides among the Lipopolysaccharides of Respiratory Pathogens from the Genus Bordetella Analyzed Exclusively by NMR Spectroscopy

Bacterial pathogens expose on the cell surface a variety of complex carbohydrate molecules. Gram-negative bacteria produce lipopolysaccharides, which are the main components of the outer membrane of bacterial envelopes and play a major role in host-pathogen interactions. B. pertussis, B. parapertussis, B. bronchiseptica, and B. holmesii, are mammalian respiratory pathogens, having substantial economic impact on human health and agriculture. B. pertussis is responsible for whooping cough (pertussis) and B. holmesii is the second pertussis etiological factor, but the current anti-pertussis vaccines do not provide cross-protection. The structural data on any given hypothetical carbohydrate antigen is a prerequisite for further analysis of structure-related activities and their interaction with hosts. 1H NMR spectra constitute fingerprints of the analyzed glycans and provide unique identity information. The concept of structure-reporter groups has now been augmented by 1H,13C-correlation spectra of the Bordetella oligosaccharides. The comparative analysis of Bordetellae oligosaccharides (OS) revealed that the hexasaccharide, comprising the α-GlcpN, α-GlcpA, 4,6-disubstituted-β-Glcp, 2,7-disubstituted-l-α-d-Hepp, 3,4-disubstituted-l-α-d-Hepp, and Kdo, constitute the least variable OS segment. This minimal common element in the structure of lipopolysaccharides of Bordetellae could be used to devise a universal cross-protective vaccine component against infections with various bacteria from the genus Bordetella.