[Glycolipid-patterns of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as an aid for sub-typing].

Total lipids were extracted from Mycobacterium tuberculosis with chloroform-methanol (2:1), applied on a silica-gel thin-layer plate, and developed with chloroform-methanol-acetone (90:10:5). Glycolipids were detected by spraying Anthrone-reagent and heating. Strain H37Rv of M. tuberculosis showed four Anthrone-positive spots, namely trehalose-monomycolate, unidentified glycolipid, trehalose-dimycolate and GL-Rv, and strain H37Ra showed only two spots corresponding to trehalose-monomycolate and trehalose-dimycolate. Other 4 laboratory-stock strains of M. tuberculosis showed glycolipid-pattern identical with either of these two patterns. One hundred and fifty-eight strains of M. tuberculosis, isolated clinically from tuberculosis patients, were classified into 7 types according to their glycolipid-pattern. Twenty-seven strains contained one more Anthrone-positive spot other than those of strain H37Rv. Pattern II was most frequently observed (60 strains), and then pattern I (33 strains), VI (29 strains), IV (13 strains), V (9 strains), VII (8 strains), and III (6 strains). Pattern I corresponded to that of strain H37Ra and pattern VI corresponded to that of strain H37Rv. Glycolipid-pattern did not correlate to clinical features of patients from whom the bacilli had been isolated. A glycolipid, which moved to just under the solvent front, was a new glycolipid which has been found by us and designated as GL-Rv. Chemical structure of GL-Rv was clarified by us as trehalose-polyacyl derivatives (no mycolic acid as the acyl residue). Glycolipid-pattern was very stable and reproducible for each strain of M. tuberculosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)