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Updated: May 10, 2026

Isolation and Chemical Characterization of Lipid A from Gram-negative Bacteria
Published on: September 16, 2013
Fortifying the barrier: the impact of lipid A remodelling on bacterial pathogenesis
Brittany D Needham1, M Stephen Trent
1The Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 78712, USA.
Abstract:
Gram-negative bacteria decorate their outermost surface structure, lipopolysaccharide, with elaborate chemical moieties, which effectively disguises them from immune surveillance and protects them from the onslaught of host defences. Many of these changes occur on the lipid A moiety of lipopolysaccharide, a component that is crucial for host recognition of Gram-negative infection. In this Review, we describe the regulatory mechanisms controlling lipid A modification and discuss the impact of modifications on pathogenesis, bacterial physiology and bacterial interactions with the host immune system.
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