Oligosaccharide structures mediating agglutination of sheep erythrocytes by Staphylococcus saprophyticus

Agglutination of sheep erythrocytes by Staphylococcus saprophyticus was used as a model system for adherence studies. Glycolipids were isolated from sheep erythrocyte membranes, and oligosaccharides were prepared by trifluoroacetolysis. The oligosaccharides were characterized by sugar analyses, methylation analyses, gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We showed that oligosaccharides containing terminal beta-D-galactose-p-(1-4)-beta-D-2-acetamido-2-deoxyglucose-p-(1- were good inhibitors of the hemagglutination of sheep erythrocytes by S. saprophyticus.