Characterization of Legionella Lipopolysaccharide

The lipopolysaccharide(LPS) of Legionella spp. is an immuno-dominant antigen and the basis for Legionella pneumophila serogroup classification. The LPS shows a peculiar structure composed of a very hydrophobic lipid A acylated by long chain fatty acids and an O-antigen-specific chain consisting of homopolymeric legionaminic acid. In this chapter we describe a method for the isolation of LPS from L. pneumophila . In the first part we describe the chemical purification, in the second part we outline the application of monoclonal antibody (mAb) in Western blot and immuno-localization by indirect immunofluorescence. This report does not describe physico-chemical methods that analyze the structure of lipopolysaccharide entities.