Lipopolysaccharide Alteration is Associated with Induced Resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to Killing by Human Serum

Department of Microbiology, University of Birmingham, PO Box 363, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK UnitáeA d'Ecologie BactáeArienne, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France ABSTRACT Summary: On SDS-PAGE, solubilized and proteinase K treated preparations of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain BS4 (agar) showed differences in silver stained lipopolysaccharide (LPS) patterns, before and after induction to resistance to serum killing by incubation for 3 h at 37 °C with low M r fractions from lysates of guinea pig red blood cells. Preparations from the original serum susceptible gonococci and LPS purified from such bacteria showed two components, but the preparations from the serum resistant gonococci were deficient in the higher M r component. Furthermore, on immunoblotting with fresh human serum (FHS), the two LPS components of the susceptible gonococci reacted strongly with IgM. With preparations from the serum resistant gonococci there was no reaction in the area corresponding to the higher M r component and a weaker reaction with the component of low M r . Purified LPS from the susceptible gonococci neutralized the bactericidal activity of FHS against N. gonorrhoeae strain BS4 (agar) probably by reacting with the relevant antibody, since heated FHS was no longer bactericidal when mixed with a source of complement (human placental serum) after prior reaction with the LPS. These neutralization tests coupled with the results of immunoblotting strongly suggest that increased serum resistance is due to the lack of the high M r LPS moiety. Present address: Department of Genetics and Cellular Biology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 22–11, Malaysia.