Binding of lysozyme to synthetic monosaccharide lipid A analogue, GLA60

Recent studies by our group suggested that lysozyme (LZM) has a high affinity for bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of both the smooth and rough forms, and inhibits various immunomodulatory activities of LPS. GLA60 is a synthetic monosaccharide analogue of bacterial lipid A, well-known as sharing large part of lipid A activities but with very low toxicity. In this study, we characterized the interaction of LZM with GLA60 in comparison to that with E. coli 0111 LPS (smooth form), taking a physicochemical approach. Using a dansylated lysozyme probe (DNS-LZM), LZM was found to bind to GLA60 in all 3 of its forms, free acid, triethylamine (TEA) salt and bovine serum albumin (BSA) complex of GLA60, as well as natural LPS. Compared with LPS, the complex formation of the TEA salt was weakly dependent on temperature and incubation time. LZM also bound to biologically inactive GLA analogues, GLA 64 and GLA69, at a high affinity, as well as to GLA 60. By using chemically modified LZM, it was found that the ionic as well as hydrophobic interactions are important for the complex formation.