Detection of antibodies against Campylobacter jejuni serogroup PEN O : 19 purified flagellar protein in a patient with Guillain-Barre syndrome

C. jejuni serogroup PEN O:19 was isolated from a stool specimen from a pati ent with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). Flagellar protein was isolated and purified from reference strain C. jejuni PEN O:19, ATCC 43446, as well as f rom a homologous patient strain. Antibodies against flagellar protein were detected by means of immunoblotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELI SA) and tube agglutination test. The antibody titres were found to be direc tly correlated at the beginning and in the recovery phase of GBS. Antibodie s of IgG and IgA classes were present from the very onset of the disease as well as 5 months later, but with a lower titre population. However, antibo dies of the IgM class were persistent only at the onset of the infection an d disappeared during the following 5 months. Our results strongly support t he hypothesis that in GBS patients, antiflagellar antibodies are induced du ring C. jejuni infection and can be used in the diagnosis of C. jejuni-asso ciated GBS.