Synthesis and Biological Activities of Bacterial Cell-wall and Cell-surface Complex Carbohydrates

Abstract

Recent studies on the chemistry and structure-activity relationships of N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine, which is the minimal, immunoadjuvantactive structure of (a) replacing whole bacterial cell in complete Freund's adjuvant for increasing levels of antibodies against a given antigen, and (b) inducing a delayed-type of hypersensitivity, and its analogs, and of lipid A component of the endotoxic, bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), will be reviewed.