Evidence that the serotype b antigenic determinant of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Y4 resides in the polysaccharide moiety of lipopolysaccharide

A high-molecular-weight polysaccharide-containing antigen was isolated from a phenol-water extract of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans ATCC 43718 (formerly Y4) by gel permeation chromatography in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-disaggregating buffer. The polysaccharide antigen formed a precipitin band with rabbit serotype b-specific antiserum but not with rabbit antisera to serotype a or c. Electroblotted serotype b antigen was probed with serum from a patient with localized juvenile periodontitis (LJP), resulting in a diffuse 'smear' in the upper region of the lane. By utilizing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, it was demonstrated that the geometric mean immunoglobulin G antibody titer to the serotype b polysaccharide was significantly higher in sera from LJP patients than in sera from periodontally healthy individuals. Moreover, LJP antibody titers to the serotype b polysaccharide exhibited age-dependent variation. Double immunodiffusion analysis revealed that the serotype b antigen formed a line of identity with low-molecular-weight LPS following reaction with serotype b-specific antiserum. Incubation of LJP serum in the presence of a lipid-free polysaccharide moiety obtained by mild acid hydrolysis of LPS from A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 markedly reduced immunoglobulin G titer to the serotype b antigen. In contrast, solubilized lipid A was only weakly inhibitory. The results of this study indicate that the serotype b-specific determinant of A. actinomycetemcomitans resides in the polysaccharide moiety of LPS and represents a major target for immunoglobulin G antibody in serum of LJP subjects colonized by this organism.