Lipopolysaccharides from Campylobacter jejuni O:41 strains associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome exhibit mimicry of GM1 ganglioside

Three Campylobacter jejuni, biotype 2, serotype O:41 strains that were isolated from patients who developed Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and one C.jejuni isolate from a patient who developed enteritis only were examined. The aim of the study was to determine the structure of the core oligosaccharide (OS) of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of C.jejuni serotype O:41, a serotype rarely associated with the development of GBS, and to determine if the LPS shares similar epitopes with any of the major human gangliosides. Electrophoretic analysis with silver staining or immunoblotting demonstrated that the strains had LPS profiles characteristic of low-molecular-weight LPS. Colorimetric analysis detected N-acetylneuraminic (sialic) acid in the core OSs of all the strains. Thin-layer chromatography with immunostaining showed that antisera raised against the GBS strains reacted with the GM(1) ganglioside, suggesting that C.jejuni serotype O:41 LPSs and the GM(1) ganglioside have similar epitopes. Furthermore, polyclonal anti-GM(1) and anti-asialoGM(1), antibodies cross-reacted with each C.jejuni O:41 LPS tested, suggesting that the serotype O:41 core OS has a GM(1)- and asialoGM(1)-like structure. LPSs extracted from C.jejuni serostrains O:2, O:3, and O:19 were also used in the study. Cholera toxin (a GM(1) ligand) and peanut agglutinin (a Gal beta 1-3GalNAc ligand) recognized all serotype O:41 LPSs and the serostrain O:2 LPS. Immunoadsorption results confirmed GM(1) relatedness. Moreover, the core OS was isolated from a GBS-associated C.jejuni O:41 LPS by gel permeation chromatography. An analysis by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC), GLC-mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance showed the core OS of one of the C. jejuni O:41 GBS isolates to have a tetrasaccharide structure consistent with GM(1) mimicry.