Acid and base hydrolysis of lipid A from Enterobacter agglomerans as monitored by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry: pertinence to detoxification mechanisms.

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which are endotoxins found in the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria, are common components of organic dusts that cause or contribute to symptoms associated with organic dust diseases. The lipid A subgroup within LPS is believed to be responsible for the toxicity. Acid and base treatments, which can be effective detoxification methods, were performed on lipid A from Enterobacter agglomerans (EA), a bacterium commonly found in field cotton. Negative-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was employed to characterize the post-treatment structural changes to lipid A. Acid treatment (1% acetic acid, 100 degrees C) hydrolyzed the ester side-chains of lipid A. It was found that the ester-linked palmitoyl group was the most labile to acid hydrolysis. Hydrolysis of the palmitoyl moiety conformed to pseudo-first-order chemical reaction kinetics with a rate constant for decomposition of heptacyl-lipid A from Enterobacter agglomerans of approximately 3.3 x 10(-3) min-1. An order of lability of lipid A acyl side-chains to acid hydrolysis was also deduced: R4' (palmitoyl) > R1' (myristoyl or hydroxymyristoyl) > R3 (hydroxymyristoyl at position 3) > R1 (oxymyristoyl group at position 3') > R2' (lauroyl). Base treatment (0.05 M NaOH in 95% EtOH, 65 degrees C) was shown to be more effective at cleaving ester-linked side-chains. In addition, mass spectral evidence suggests that opening of the pyranose rings of the disaccharide backbone of lipid A and/or removal of the phosphoryl groups may be occurring during base treatment. This study sheds light on mechanistic aspects of treatment procedures leading to the detoxification of endotoxins.