Lipopolysaccharides of a Campylobacter coli isolate from a patient with Guillain-Barre syndrome display ganglioside mimicry

Campylobacter coli was isolated from a patient with severe, axonal type Gui llain-Barre syndrome (GBS). The patient's serum was tested by ELISA for gly colipid antibodies and showed a high titer of IgG antibodies to asialo-GM1 (GA1) and GD3. Campylobacter coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was extracted an d analyzed by ELISA, immunoblot binding and blocking studies, and found to avidly bind cholera toxin and peanut agglutinin. The LPS from the patient's isolate also induced anti-GA1 antibodies in a rat model. These findings su ggest that the LPS from this bacterial isolate contains a ganglioside-like epitope. which most likely resembles GA1. Thus, it appears that ganglioside cross-reactivity is not unique to Campylobacter jejuni and seems to occur in all bacterial isolates from GBS cases so far analyzed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.