The study of Burkholderia Pseudomallei Lipopolysaccharide

Abstract

The role of Burkholderia pseudomallei lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the pathogenesis of the pathogen was determined by comparing to the closely related, but rarely pathogenic Burkholderia thailandensis. Although initial studies indicated that magnesium may modulate LPS structure, upon investigation, magnesium did not induce lipid A modifications in B. pseudomallei and B. thailandensis. However, fatty-acid compositional analysis revealed that the lipid A structure was different between the two pathogens. Biological assays also demonstrated that the LPS of B. thailandensis stimulated mouse macrophages twice as much as B. pseudomallei LPS. The difference in the ability of the two pathogens to activate murine macrophages may be attributed to the unique presence of 2-hydroxy-tetradecanoic acid in B. pseudomallei LPS and the varying modification of phosphate groups in B. thailandensis LPS. The data suggests that unique features of B. pseudomallei LPS may enable the pathogen to evade immune recognition and survive intracellularly compared to B. thailandensis.