Structural and Serological Characterization of the O Antigen of Clinical Isolates Classified into a New Serogroup, O84.

Two closely related smooth strains, Kr1 and Ks20, were isolated from wound and skin samples, respectively, of two infected patients in central Poland. Serological tests, using the rabbit Kr1-specific antiserum, revealed that both strains presented the same O serotype. Their O antigens are unique among the O serotypes, which had been described earlier, as they were not recognized in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) by a set of O1-O83 antisera. Additionally, the Kr1 antiserum did not react with O1-O83 lipopolysaccharides (LPSs). The O-specific polysaccharide (OPS, O antigen) of Kr1 was obtained via the mild acid degradation of the LPSs, and its structure was established via a chemical analysis and one- and two-dimensional H and C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy applied to both initial and O-deacetylated polysaccharides, where most β-2-acetamido-2-deoxyglucose (N-acetylglucosamine) (GlcNAc) residues are non-stoichiometrically O-acetylated at positions 3, 4, and 6 or 3 and 6, and a minority of α-GlcNAc residues are 6-O-acetylated. Based on the serological features and chemical data, Kr1 and Ks20 were proposed as candidates to a new successive O-serogroup in the genus , O84, which is another example of new O serotypes identified lately among serologically differentiated bacilli infecting patients in central Poland.