Wax D, peptido-glycolipid of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: further purification and study of an adjuvant arthritis inhibiting subfraction.

Waxes D from var. , strains Canetti and Brévannes, and from No. 21 which are macromolecular peptidoglycolipids with important biological properties (Freund's adjuvant effect; induction of adjuvant arthritis), were submitted to further purifications. The fractions obtained after ultracentrifugation in ether were acetylated and chromatographed on silicic acid. The quantitative amino acid compositions of the different subfractions were established. The study of these compounds seemed important as the arthritis-inducing ability of wax D was lost after acetylation. Furthermore, rats injected with an acetylated wax D were protected against the arthritis-inducing ability of unaltered wax D.