The immunochemistry of Shigella flexneri O-antigens: an analysis of the determinants of some representative type specific factors.

Complement fixation inhibition studies with oligosaccharides of known molecular structure have shown that the epitopes of O-antigens I, II, III, IV, V and 7,8 are disaccharide sequences of α-D-glucosyl-(1→4)--acetyl-D-glucosamine, α-D-glucosyl-(1→4)-L-rhamnose, 2--acetyl-α-D-glucosyl-(1→2)-L-rhamnose, α-D-glucosyl-(1→6)--acetyl-D-glucosamine, α-D-glucosyl-(1→3)-L-rhamnose and α-D-glucosyl-(1→2)-L-rhamnose respectively. The paratope of rabbit antibody appears to have molecular dimensions corresponding to at least two, but not more than three, sugar residues.