ABSTRACT
The nonenteric gram-negative mucosal bacteria from the genera Neisseria, Moraxella, Haemophilus, Helicobacter, and Bordetella have evolved a unique set of glycolipids expressed on the outer leaf of the outer membrane, termed lipooligosaccharides (LOS). The majority of LOS studies have been performed on Neisseria gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis (pathogenic Neisseria), enhancing our understanding of the structure, biosynthesis, and functions of these glycolipids. Little was known about the LOS antigenic or chemical structure until the late 1960s, when J.A. Maeland and coworkers began to define the antigenicity of gonococcal endotoxin. Bacterial LOS structures have been implicated in sequelae associated with Campylobacter jejuni infection of the human intestine and in Helicobacter pylori infection associated with peptic ulcer disease.
