The origin of antibodies to ganglioside complexes, as new immunotargets for Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), is unknown. This was investigated in 21 GBS patients from which Campylobacter jejuni was isolated. Two of these patients had serum IgG to the GM1/GD1a complex and two other patients had IgG to the GQ1b/GD1a complex. These pairs of patients were clinically distinct. These antibodies all cross-reacted to lipo-oligosaccharides (LOS) from the autologous C. jejuni strain. Previous mass spectrometry studies on these LOS showed the presence of oligosaccharides with a similar structure, further supporting the hypothesis that in these patients LOS induced the ganglioside complex antibodies.

, , , , ,
doi.org/10.1016/j.jneuroim.2007.05.014, hdl.handle.net/1765/35748
Journal of Neuroimmunology
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

Kuijf, M., Godschalk, P., Gilbert, M., Endtz, H., Tio-Gillen, A., Ang, W., … Jacobs, B. (2007). Origin of ganglioside complex antibodies in Guillain-Barré syndrome. Journal of Neuroimmunology, 188(1-2), 69–73. doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2007.05.014