CAMPYLOBACTER-JEJUNI LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDES IN GUILLAIN-BARRE-SYNDROME -MOLECULAR MIMICRY AND HOST SUSCEPTIBILITY

Objective: This study was designed to determine if the presence of spe cific ganglioside-like moieties in Campylobacter lipopolysaccharides ( LPSs) is related to the development of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), and to discover how frequently such moieties, including GM1, are prese nt in these LPSs. Methods: We studied Campylobacter isolates and sera from seven patients with GBS (five acute motor axonal neuropathy, one acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, and one Fisher's synd rome), and compared them with similar specimens from patients with Cam pylobacter enteritis alone. Results: All GBS patients had antiganglios ide antibodies. Anti-GM1 and anti-GD1a titers were significantly eleva ted in post-Campylobacter GBS, both axonal and demyelinating, compared with normal control subjects or those with uncomplicated Campylobacte r diarrhea. Campylobacter isolated from patients with GBS and with ent eritis alone had similar ganglioside-like moieties. Conclusions: These results indicate that patients who develop GBS respond differently to the ganglioside-like epitopes on Campylobacter than do non-GBS diarrh ea patients. Our findings support a role for host susceptibility as a determinant for the outcome following Campylobacter infection. These f indings have important implications for the development of vaccines ag ainst Campylobacter jejuni.