Lipophosphoglycan of Leishmania major that vaccinates against cutaneous leishmaniasis contains an alkylglycerophosphoinositol lipid anchor.

Abstract

The major cell surface glycoconjugate of Leishmania major, a putative parasite receptor for macrophages, is a lipophosphoglycan containing 81.6% (wt/wt) carbohydrate, 17.0% (wt/wt) phosphate, and 1.4% (wt/wt) lipid. It has been purified to homogeneity by hydrophobic chromatography and consists of a polydisperse family of molecules with Mr 5000-40,000. It contains galactose, mannose, glucose, arabinose, glucosamine, and inositol in the molar ratio of 51:21:5:6:1:1. The lipophosphoglycan has a complex structure, consisting mainly of tri- and tetrasaccharide units linked by phosphodiester bonds, which are cleaved by HF hydrolysis. The phosphate groups are located on the 6-hydroxyl of both galac..