Refined structure of the lipophosphoglycan of Leishmania donovani

Abstract

The primary structure of the major surface glycoconjugate of Leishmania donovani parasites, a lipophosphoglycan, has been further characterized. The repeating PO4-6Galpβ1-4Man disaccharide units, which are a salient feature of the molecule, are shown to terminate with one of several neutral structures, the most abundant of which is the branched trisaccharide Galpβ1-4(Manpα1-2)Man. The phosphosaccharide core of lipophosphoglycan, which links the disaccharide repeats to a lipid anchor, contains 2 phosphate residues. One of the core phosphates has previously been localized on O-6 of the galactosyl residue distal to the lipid anchor; the second phosphate is now shown to be on O-6 of the mannosyl..