title: Campylobacter jejuni/Campylobacter coli-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome. Immunoblot confirmation of the serological response.
abstract: Immunoblot (Western blot) examination of the sera of 45 patients with the Guillain-Barré syndrome demonstrated that between three and five immunoreactive bands that were characteristic of a recent Campylobacter jejuni/Campylobacter coli infection were present in 22 of these patients. The immunoblots paralleled the serological response that is found in campylobacter enteritis and confirmed the specificity of our previous enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), which indicates that antecedent C. jejuni/C. coli infection is common in patients with the Guillain-Barré syndrome. We postulate that, under certain circumstances, demyelination is initiated by the leakage of campylobacter-specific antibody across the blood-nerve barrier.
mesh_terms: D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002168:Campylobacter fetus / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000175:diagnosis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000032:analysis; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis; D007159:Immunologic Tests; D011129:Polyradiculoneuropathy / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M