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We have previously reported the presence of phosphate bound ß-1,2 linked oligomannosides with unusually high degrees of polymerization (DP > 7) in the mannan of Candida albicans strain VW32. To confirm this observation, we have prepared these oligomannosides from the mannan of C. albicans strain NIH A 207. Gel filtration chromatography and TLC analysis revealed DP up to 14. For both strains, NMR analysis confirmed the exclusive presence of ß-1,2 linkages in the pools of oligomannosides with a DP higher than 6 which presented an average DP of 10.6 (VW32) and 10.4 (NIH A 207). These results are important to consider in relation with the ability of these C. albicans derived oligomannosides to trigger TNFa synthesis according to their DP.

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The minimal epitope of an anti-Candida albicans mannan monoclonal antibody (MAb) EB-CA1, used to detect mannanemia in patient sera, was determined, MAb EB-CA1 exhibited reactivity with oligomannosides released from the mannan acid stable domain, converted into neoglycolipids (NGLs) and coated onto ELISA plates. Reactivity occurred with mannopentaose and higher oligomers, whereas mannotriose and mannotetraose were unreactive. MAb EB-CA1 binding to mannan acid stable mannopentaose NGL displayed a dose dependent and saturable specific reactivity curve whereas there was a complete absence of binding, even at high concentrations, with NGLs constructed from the beta-1,2-linked mannopentaose derived from the mannan acid labile fraction. MAb EB-CA1 binding to acid stable mannopentaose NGL was inhibited by the homologous oligomannoside but not by mannotriose and mannotetraose. NMR analysis showed that mannotriose and mannotetraose contained exclusively alpha-1,2-linked D-mannopyranose units and that mannopentaose was a mixture of a mannopentaose alpha-1,2-linked and an isomer in which the fifth mannose was alpha-1,6-linked to the reducing unit of manno-alpha-1,2 tetraose. Western blot analysis has shown that MAb EB-CA1 epitope was expressed on a wide range of C. albicans manno-glycoconjugate as well as on manno-glycoconjugates of other pathogenic species of the genus Candida, viz. C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis and C. krusei.

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Guinea pig colonic epithelial cells release a soluble lectin capable of agglutinating numerous strains of Shigella and Escherichia coli as well as other bacteria. Using pure oligosaccharides and glycopeptides with well‐defined structures to inhibit the agglutination of Shigella flexneri 1b by the soluble intestinal lectin, we have been able to demonstrate that the latter recognises different structural types. Inhibition by human milk glucoprotein glycopeptides with biantennary glycans of the N‐acetyllactosamine type was dependent on the simultaneous presence of unsubstituted terminal non‐reducing galactose residues and of a fucose residue α‐1,6‐linked to the asparagine‐conjugated N‐acetylglucosamine residue. Unsubstituted terminal non‐reducing galactose was also determinant for inhibition by human milk oligosaccharides. Finally oligosaccharides possessing the Man (α1–2) Man structure inhibited more effectively than those with a Man(α1–3)Man sequence. The fact that these different structural motifs were all inhibitory raises the problem of the possible existence of a multispecific lectin or of several different lectins in the guinea pig colonic mucosa mediating bacterial adherence.

Circulating M antigen, specific for genus Schistosoma, was previously described in serum, urine, patients' milk, and in serum and urine of animals infected by S. mansoni. The M antigen was thermostable and soluble in trichloroacetic acid. It was not hydrolyzed by protease, ribonuclease, amylase, or neuraminidase but destroyed by sodium metaperiodate. In the present study, we have purified the M ag by using trichloroacetic acid solubility, DEAE Sephadex, and immunoadsorption. The M ag showed a neutral electric charge, a m.w. heterogeneity, and was only stained by periodic acid-Schiff. The composition study revealed M ag was a glycoprotein with a polysaccharide moiety (63% of the molecules) particularly rich in galactose, fucose, glucosamine, and mannose, and with a high molecular ratio of serine and threonine. The presence of O-glycosidic linkage allowed M ag to be considered as a mucin or a mucus glycoprotein-like component. It was localized in the cell wall of the gut of adult worms.

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