[Campylobacter jejuni enteritis and Guillain-Barré syndrome]

Some patients developed Guillain-Barré syndrome after the administration of bovine brain ganglioside. Patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome subsequent to Campylobacter jejuni enteritis frequently have IgG antibody to GM1 ganglioside. Miller Fisher syndrome, a variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome, is associated with IgG antibody to GQ1b ganglioside. My colleagues and I showed the existence of molecular mimicry between GM1 and lipopolysaccharide of C. jejuni isolated from a patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome, and that between GQ1b and C. jejuni lipopolysaccharides from patients with Miller Fisher syndrome. The glycotope mimicry between infectious agents and gangliosides may function in the production of antiganglioside antibodies and the development of Guillain-Barré syndrome and Miller Fisher syndrome.