bacterium. This is a signature for which each small detail may exert important differences on LPS recognition by host cells and signal transduction (2). LPS does not necessarily induce a toxic response, so all LPSs are not endotoxins, but endotoxins are always composed of LPSs. LPSs are the first nonsecreted toxins found to interact with host innate immunity, generating cytokine production, immune cell recruitment, and specific host-cell responses leading, at higher doses, to multiple organ failure and septic shock (3). The smallest change in the structures of LPSs or their hydrophobic moiety, named lipid A, is directly linked to innate immune recognition and development of a specific host response. The interaction between LPS molecules and their innate receptor, the MD-2/TLR4 complex, is greatly affected by the fine details of LPS structures. First, LPS molecules are recognized by the LPS binding protein and presented as monomers to the soluble or membrane CD14 receptors. Then, the LPS is transferred to the MD-2/TLR4 complex (2, 4) allowing its dimerization of the receptor through ionic and hydrophobic interactions and activation of the cellular signaling pathways. Among these, the activation of the NFB pathway directly induces rapid pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Secreted cytokines are ultimately central to the generation of efficient responses to pathogens and the activation of the adaptive immune system (5, 6).The Neisseriaceae family members, including the Vitreoscilla genus, are obligate aerobic bacteria described for the first time in 1949 by E. G. Pringsheim (7) as colorless gliding filamentous organisms. Similar organisms were in fact described earlier by Cohn (8) in 1870. They are known as the first genus in which bacterial hemoglobin (VHb) was discovered (9).Abstract Vitreoscilla filiformis is a Gram-negative bacterium isolated from spa waters and described for its beneficial effects on the skin. We characterized the detailed structure of its lipopolysaccharide (LPS) lipid A moiety, an active component of the bacterium that contributes to the observed skin activation properties. Two different batches differing in postculture cell recovery were tested. Chemical analyses and mass spectra, obtained before and after mild-alkali treatments, revealed that these lipids A share the common bisphosphorylated - (1→6) Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) are the main components of the outer-membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, representing about 10 6 molecules per bacterium (1). They are also major antigens displaying unique structures for each