Aberrant sialylation in a patient with a HNF1α variant and liver adenomatosis.

Glycosylation is a fundamental post-translational modification of proteins that boosts their structural diversity providing subtle and specialized biological properties and functions. All those genetic diseases due to a defective glycan biosynthesis and attachment to the nascent glycoproteins fall within the wide area of congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG), mostly causing multisystem involvement. In the present paper, we detailed the unique serum N-glycosylation of a CDG-candidate patient with an unexplained neurological phenotype and liver adenomatosis harboring a recurrent pathogenic HNF1α variant. Serum transferrin isoelectric focusing showed a surprising N-glycosylation pattern consisting on hyposialylation, as well as remarkable hypersialylation. Mass spectrometry-based glycomic analyses of individual serum glycoproteins enabled to unveil hypersialylated complex N-glycans comprising up to two sialic acids per antenna. Further advanced MS analysis showed the additional sialic acid is bonded through an α2-6 linkage to the peripheral N-acetylglucosamine residue.

Lipopolysaccharide from Gut-Associated Lymphoid-Tissue-Resident Alcaligenes faecalis: Complete Structure Determination and Chemical Synthesis of Its Lipid†A.

Alcaligenes faecalis is the predominant Gram-negative bacterium inhabiting gut-associated lymphoid tissues, Peyer's patches. We previously reported that an A. faecalis lipopolysaccharide (LPS) acted as a weak agonist for Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation factor-2 (MD-2) receptor as well as a potent inducer of IgA without excessive inflammation, thus suggesting that A. faecalis LPS might be used as a safe adjuvant. In this study, we characterized the structure of both the lipooligosaccharide (LOS) and LPS from A. faecalis. We synthesized three lipid A molecules with different degrees of acylation by an efficient route involving the simultaneous introduction of 1- and 4'-phosphates. Hexaacylated A. faecalis lipid A showed moderate agonistic activity towards TLR4-mediated signaling and the ability to elicit a discrete interleukin-6 release in human cell lines and mice. It was thus found to be the active principle of the LOS/LPS and a promising vaccine adjuvant candidate.

Determination of the structure of the O-antigen and the lipid A from the entomopathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas entomophila lipopolysaccharide along with its immunological properties.

The structure and the immunology of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Pseudomonas entomophila, an entomopathogenic bacterium isolated from the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, was characterized. The O-antigen portion was established and resulted to be built up of a repetitive unit constituted by four monosaccharide residues, all L configured, all deoxy at C-6 and with an acetamido function at C-2: →3)-α-l-FucNAc-(1→4)-α-l-FucNAc-(1→3)-α-l-FucNAc-(1→3)-ß-l-QuiNAc-(1→ The structural analysis of lipid A, showed a mixture of different species. The diphosphorylated glucosamine backbone carries six fatty acids consistent with the composition C10:0 3(OH), C12:0 2(OH) and C12:0 3(OH), whereas other species differs by the number of phosphates and/or of fatty acids. The immunology experiments demonstrated that the LPS structure of P. entomophila displayed a low ability to engage the TLR4-mediated signaling correlated to a significant antagonistic activity toward hexa-acylated LPS structures.