PubMed:3078947 JSONTXT 23 Projects

Structure of the capsular K3 antigen of Escherichia coli 04:K3:H4, a polysaccharide containing a 4-deoxy-2-hexulosonic acid. The K3-antigenic capsular polysaccharide (K3 antigen) of Escherichia coli contains L-rhamnose, a 4-deoxy-2-hexulosonic acid, and an O-acetyl group in the molar ratio of 3:1:1. The backbone consists of a ----2)-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1----3)-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1----3)-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1---- repeating unit. Either one of the 3-linked L-rhamnopyranosyl residues of each repeating unit may be substituted at O-2 with a 4-deoxy-2-hexulosonic acid, an isomer of the furanosyl form of KDO, about 90% of which is acetylated at 0-6. The 4-deoxy-2-hexulosonic acid residue is linked to the L-rhamnan backbone in a very labile linkage which is split by 1% acetic acid (30 min, 100 degrees). The K3 polysaccharide has a molecular weight of approximately 38,000, corresponding to approximately 60 repeating units.