REACTIVITY OF NEUROBORRELIOSIS PATIENTS (LYME-DISEASE) TO CARDIOLIPINAND GANGLIOSIDES

A subset of patients (50%) with neuroborreliosis (Lyme disease) showed IgG reactivity to cardiolipin in solid phase ELISA. In addition, a su bset of patients with neuroborreliosis (29%) and syphilis (59%) had Ig M reactivity to gangliosides with a Gal(beta1-3) GalNac terminal seque nce (GM1, GD1b, and asialo GM1). Anti-ganglioside IgM antibodies were significantly more frequent in these two groups of patients compared t o patients with cutaneous and articular Lyme disease, primary antiphos pholipid syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus and normal controls. C orrelative evidence and adsorption experiments indicated that antibodi es to cardiolipin had separate specificities from those directed again st the gangliosides. IgM antibodies to Gal(beta1-3) GalNac ganglioside s appeared to have similar specificities since these were positively c orrelated and inhibitable by cross adsorption assays. Given the clinic al associations of patients with neuroborreliosis and syphilis with Ig M reactivity to gangliosides sharing the Gal(beta1-3) GalNac terminus, we suggest that these antibodies could represent a response to injury in neurological disease or a cross reactive event caused by spirochet es.