Rosen G, Påhlsson P, Londner M V, Westerman M E, Nilsson B
Department of Parasitology, Kuvin Centre for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
J Biol Chem. 1989 Jun 25;264(18):10457-63.
Three glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol glycolipids recognized by antibodies from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis were extracted from Leishmania major promastigotes by hexane:isopropanol and then purified by thin layer chromatography and LH-20 gel chromatography. Structural analysis was carried out using chemical analyses, fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, and 1H NMR. The major structures deduced can be summarized as follows: (formula: see text) where n = 0, 1, 2; R1 = (CH2)23-CH3; R2 = (CH2)14-CH3 or (CH2)16-CH3. Alkyl-acyl substitutions in the glycerol backbone showed considerable heterogeneity. These three glycolipids belong to a relatively new class of compounds and may represent sequential steps in the biosynthesis of glycosyl-phosphatidylinositols which anchor proteins or other glycoconjugates to Leishmania cell membranes.
