The ability of antibodies to cell-surface components of Klebsiella to increase surface hydrophobicity and to gain access to antigens potentially masked by the capsule was investigated. Treatment of capsulate or non-capsulate strains with the respective autologous antiserum resulted in a marked increase in surface hydrophobicity. Antisera raised against a rough non-capsulate (K-O-) strain had li...

Pneumococci can possess the normal S transforming principle and yet produce amounts of capsular polysaccharide much less than would be expected if the quantity formed depended only on the nature of the S transforming principle.

Pasteurella multocida is a causative agent of a number of economically important diseases in livestock. Due to the fatal nature of the disease, there is urgent need for rapid diagnosis so that appropriate therapeutic and preventive measures could be undertaken. A study was designed to extract different antigens of P. multocida capsular type A and B which included whole bacterium, Capsular antig...

Antibodies to a capsular polysaccharide (PS) provide protection against Streptococcus pneumoniae which express the homologous capsular serotype, and pneumococcal vaccines are designed to induce antibodies in the capsular PS. Levels and opsonophagocytic capacity of antibodies to the capsular PS of S. pneumoniae serotype 19F were determined by sera from adults immunized with 23-valent S. pneumoni...

The human pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans has a distinctive polysaccharide (PS) capsule that enlarges during infection. The capsule is essential for virulence, but the mechanism for capsular growth is unknown. In the present study, we used dynamic light scattering (LS) analysis of capsular PS and optical tweezers (OT) to explore the architecture of the capsule. Analysis of capsular PS...

A non-antigenic mucoid polysaccharide similar to that described by Kendall, Heidelberger, and Dawson was isolated from group C hemolytic streptococci. A simple method for its quantitative estimation is described. By means of this quantitative method, as well as by the direct isolation of the carbohydrates, the size and persistence of capsules in young cultures of various strains have been relat...

Bacterial polysaccharides are usually associated with the outer surface of the bacterium. They can form an amorphous layer of extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) surrounding the cell that may be further organized into a distinct structure termed a capsule. Additional polysaccharide molecules such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or lipooligosaccharide (LOS) may also decorate the cell surface. Polysac...

1. The specific polysaccharide content of pneumonic lungs in Type III pneumonia was 60 times greater than in Type I, II, VII, and VIII cases. 2. The highest values were obtained from gray hepatized lobes, but the red hepatized and edematous areas also contained large quantities of S. 3. Comparable yields of polysaccharide were recovered from the sputa and lungs of fatal cases. 4. Preliminary pe...

Exposure of Cryptococcus neoformans cells to gamma radiation results in a gradual release of capsular polysaccharide, in a dose-dependent manner. This method allows the systematic exploration of different capsular regions. Using this methodology, capsule density was determined to change according to the radial distribution of glucuronoxylomannan and total polysaccharide, becoming denser at the ...

Expression of a capsular polysaccharide is considered a hallmark of most invasive species of bacteria, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, in which the capsule is among the principal virulence factors and is the basis for successful vaccines. Consequently, it was previously assumed that capsule production distinguishes S. pneumoniae from closely related commensals of the mitis group streptococc...