Beta-D-Glucose 1-phosphate. A Structural Unit and an Immunological Determinant of a Glycan from Streptococcal Cell Walls

Glycose 1-phosphate moieties are emerging as important structural units of macromolecular substances imparting special biological functions to these molecules. In the present study, beta-D-glucose 1-phosphate moieties are shown to be structural units and immunological determinants of a bacterial glycan. The glycan is a tetraheteroglycan from the cell wall of Streptococcus faecalis, strain N and is composed of glucose, galactose, rhamnose, N-acetylgalactosamine, and phosphate. Several lines of evidence have been obtained for the presence of beta-D-glucose 1-phosphate units in the glycan, including the liberation of glucose by mild acid hydrolysis, the inhibition of the precipitin reaction by beta-D-glucose 1-phosphate, and the formation of levoglucosan on treatment of the glycan with alkali. Work on the preparation of affinity adsorbents for isolating the new types of antibodies directed at the beta-D-glucose 1-phosphate moieties is in progress.