Figure 9.

Rough LPS aggregates dissociates more readily than smooth LPS in plasma. Smooth and rough LPS (20 μM each) were labeled with Bodipy and incubated for 20 min at 37°C in the presence of saline plasma isolated from wild-type mice and were subsequently subjected to size exclusion chromatography. Recovery and distribution of LPS was determined by fluorescence reading. See “Experimental Procedures” for additional experimental details. (A) shows the ratios of smooth (black bars) and rough LPS (gray bars) that were recovered as large aggregates (full bars) or dissociated molecules (checked bars) after incubation in saline (left) or in plasma (right). Values above each bar indicate the amount of each LPS form as percent of total pool. (B) shows plasma distribution of the dissociated forms of smooth (closed diamonds) or rough LPS (open squares).