N. Yuki et al., A BACTERIUM LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE THAT ELICITS GUILLAIN-BARRE-SYNDROME HAS A GM1 GANGLIOSIDE-LIKE STRUCTURE, The Journal of experimental medicine, 178(5), 1993, pp. 1771-1775
There is a strong association between Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) an
d Penner's serotype 19 (PEN 19) of Campylobacter jejuni. Sera from pat
ients with GBS after C jejuni infection have autoantibodies to GM1 gan
glioside in the acute phase of the illness. Our previous work has sugg
ested that GBS results from an immune response to cross-reactive antig
en between lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of the Gram-negative bacterium and
membrane components of peripheral nerves. To clarify the pathogenesis
of GBS, we have investigated whether GM1-oligosaccharide structure is
present in the LPS of C jejuni (PEN 19) that was isolated from a GBS
patient. After extraction of the LPS, the LPS showing the binding acti
vity of cholera toxin, that specifically recognizes the GM1-oligosacch
aride was purified by a silica bead column chromatography. Gas-liquid
chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis has shown that the purified
LPS contained Gal, GalNAc, and NeuAc, which are sugar components of G
M1 ganglioside. H-1 NMR methods [Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG), tot
al correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY), and nuclear Overhauser effect spe
ctroscopy (NOESY)] have revealed that the oligosaccharide structure [G
albeta1-3GalNAcbeta1-4(NeuAcalpha2-3)Galbeta] protrude from the LPS co
re. This terminal structure [Galbeta1-3GalNAcbeta1-4(NeuAcalpha2-3)Gal
beta] is identical to the terminal tetrasaccharide of the GM1 ganglios
ide. This is the first study to demonstrate the existence of molecular
mimicry between nerve tissue and the infectious agent that elicits GB
S.