Isolation and characterisation of the lipopolysaccharide from Acidiphilium strain GS18h/ATCC55963, a soil isolate of Indian copper mine

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of the Gram-negative Acidiphilium strain GS18h/ATCC55963, a new soil isolate, exhibited very low endotoxic activity as determined by Limulus gelation activity, lethal toxicity in galactosamine (GalN) sensitised mice, and level of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) in the blood serum of BALB/c mice. Analysis of the LPS, specially of lipid A which usually accounts for the toxicity, revealed the latter to contain glucosamine and phosphate besides fatty acids, of which 14:0(3-OH), 18:0(3-OH), 18:1 and 19:0(cyclo) are the major components, while 12:0, 16:0, 19:1, 20:0(3-OH) and 20:1(3-OH) are present in small amounts. The 14:0(3-OH) and 18:0(3-OH) fatty acids are amide-linked, whereas the rest are ester bound. Glucose, galactose, mannose, rhamnose, heptose, galacturonic acid and 3-deoxy-d-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid (Kdo) were present in the polysaccharide part of this LPS. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of the LPS showed a macromolecular heterogeneity distinctly different from those of Escherichia coli or Salmonella. The toxicity of this LPS being extremely low attributed to fatty acid composition of its lipid A, promises potential therapeutic application.