Structural and Functional Paradigm of Antigenic Lipopolysaccharides of Indigenous Strains of Typhoidal Pathogens

Abstract

Typhoid, a disease caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi), is a major public health problem worldwide. It is associated with about 33 million cases and resulting in 600,000 deaths annually. It is considered as the 4th largest cause of death in Pakistan. There is no single vaccine available which can covers all types of typhoidal ailments. To effectively combat this disease, development and use of efficacious vaccines are required. Like all other Gram-negative bacteria, the main virulence factor of Salmonella is the lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is the key tool used in the development of effective vaccines. It has been repOlied that modification of Salmonella LPS results in attenuation of signaling through the TLR4 pathway and, therefore, may promote the evasion of the innate immune system during infection. Therefore, structural and functional study of LPS from various Salmonella strains is essential to understand the disease nature and to develop the effective conjugate vaccines against all typhoidal pathogens