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Multicenter Study
. 2007 Oct 1;196(7):1088-92.
doi: 10.1086/521367. Epub 2007 Aug 22.

Unique lipid a modifications in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from the airways of patients with cystic fibrosis

Robert K Ernst  1 , Samuel M Moskowitz, Julia C Emerson, Gretchen M Kraig, Kristin N Adams, Megan D Harvey, Bonnie Ramsey, David P Speert, Jane L Burns, Samuel I Miller
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Unique lipid a modifications in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from the airways of patients with cystic fibrosis

Robert K Ernst et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Three structural features of lipid A (addition of palmitate [C16 fatty acid], addition of aminoarabinose [positively charged amino sugar residue], and retention of 3-hydroxydecanoate [3-OH C10 fatty acid]) were determined for Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF; n=86), from the environment (n=13), and from patients with other conditions (n=14). Among P. aeruginosa CF isolates, 100% had lipid A with palmitate, 24.6% with aminoarabinose, and 33.3% retained 3-hydroxydecanoate. None of the isolates from the environment or from patients with other conditions displayed these modifications. These results indicate that unique lipid A modifications occur in clinical P. aeruginosa CF isolates.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest: none reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Proposed pathway for synthesis of cystic fibrosis–specific Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipid A. Addition of palmitate (Δm/z, +238; structures C and E), addition of aminoarabinose (Δm/z, +131; structure D; shown as either penta- [loss of 3-OH C10 in shaded oval] or hexa-acylated), and deacylation (or removal) of the 3 position fatty acid (Δm/z, −170; structures B and C) to the base hexa-acylated lipid A structure (structure A) are shown. For all structures, the molecular weight (m/z, or mass to charge ratio) of the singly charged lipid A species is indicated.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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