Characterization of hemagglutinin derived from Prevotella nigrescens

Abstract

We isolated a hemagglutinin from Prevotella nigrescens strain E4 by mechanical shearing, ultrasonication and gel filtration. Hemagglutinating activity was eltuted in the second peak on a Sepharose CL-4 B column. The activity was sensitive to trypsin, chymotrypsin, protease, β-glucosidase and various detergents, but resistant to heat at 80℃ for 10 min. Addition of _L-lysine and _L-arginine caused hemagglutination inhibition, although addition of _L-fucose, _L-rhamnose and maltose increased the activity. The active fraction reacted with antiserum against hemagglutinin from Prevotella intermedia E 18. These results indicate that this hemagglutinin is a protein-polysaccharide complex and is distributed on most of the cell surface of Prevotella intermedia and Prevotella nigrescens.