Biological characterization of Campylobacter fetus lipopolysaccharides

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of three strains of Campylobacter fetus (subspp. fetus and venerealis, and serotypes A and B), a bacterium of veterinary importance but also a cause of various infections in humans, were assessed for their ability to induce mitogenicity, gelation of Limulus amebocyte lysate, lethal toxicity in mice, and pyrogenicity in rabbits. All C. fetus LPS exhibited activities lower than those of Salmonella typhimurium LPS. LPS of C. fetus subsp. fetus serotype A had the lowest activity in all assays. Since the majority of C. fetus subsp. fetus isolates from humans are serotype A, the lower biological activities of this LPS may aid the pathogenesis of such strains. The lower activities of C. fetus LPS compared with those of S. typhimurium LPS may reflect the presence of longer fatty acid chains in the lipid A of C. fetus LPS, whereas interstrain differences in C. fetus LPS bioactivities may be related to some property influenced by composition of the saccharide moiety.