Contribution of the mannan O side-chains to the adjuvant action of lipopolysaccharides.

Klebsiella 03 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and Escherichia coli 09 LPS were previously shown to have potent adjuvant activities in augmenting antibody response and delayed-type hypersensitivity to protein antigens. The R form LPS extracted from the O-specific polysaccharide-less mutants derived from Klebsiella 03 and E. coli 09 strains were characterized by chemical and electrophoretic analyses. The adjuvant activities of the R-LPS in augmenting antibody response and DTH to protein antigens were much weaker than those of the parental LPS. The strength of the adjuvant activities of the R-LPS was similar to that of the activities of Salmonella minnesota LPS and Ra-LPS. By contrast, polyclonal B-cell activation effects of the R-LPS were stronger than those of the parental LPS. The common feature of the parental LPS is that their O-specific polysaccharides are mannose homopolymers (mannans). From these results, it is suggested that mannose homopolymers as the O side-chains of LPS contribute to the action of LPS in enhancing strongly the T-cell dependent immune responses to protein antigens.