The structure of the LPS O-chain from five Fusobacterium nucleatum strains CTX47T, CC2_6JVN3, CC2_3FMU1, CC2_1JVN3, HM-996, containing alditol and phosphate in the main chain and development of mouse monoclonal antibodies specific to the O-antigens.

Fusobacterium nucleatum is an anaerobic bacterium found in the human mouth where it causes periodontitis. It was also found in colorectal cancer tissues and is linked with pregnancy complications, including pre-term and stillbirths. Cell surface structures of the bacterium could be implicated in pathogenesis. Here we report four new structures of the lipopolysaccharide O-chain (OPS) from five strains of F. nucleatum CTX47T, CC2_6JVN3, CC2_3FMU1, CC2_1JVN3, HM-996, isolated from cancerous tissues. Three of the four structures have a common sequence of hexose-diaminofucose-hexitol-phosphate in the main chain.