title: Campylobacter jejuni strains from patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome.
abstract: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), an acute demyelinating peripheral neuropathy, may be triggered by an acute infectious illness; infection with Campylobacter jejuni is the most frequently reported antecedent event. In Japan, O:19 is the most common serotype among GBS-associated C. jejuni strains. To determine whether serotype O:19 occurs among GBS-associated strains in the United States and Europe, we serotyped seven such strains and found that two (29%) of seven GBS-associated strains from patients in the United States and Germany were serotype O:19. To determine whether GBS-associated strains may be resistant to killing by normal human serum (NHS), we studied the serum susceptibility of 17 GBS- and 27 enteritis-associated strains (including many O:19 and non-O:19 strains) using C. jejuni antibody positive (pool 1) or negative (pool 2) human serum. Using pool 1 serum we found that one (6%) of 18 serotype O:19 strains compared with 11 (42%) of 26 non-O:19 strains were killed; results using pool 2 serum were nearly identical. Finally, 8 O:19 and 8 non-O:19 strains were not significantly different in their ability to bind complement component C3. Serotype O:19 C. jejuni strains were overrepresented among GBS-associated strains in the United States and Germany and were significantly more serum-resistant than non-O:19 strains. The mechanism of this resistance appears unrelated to C3 binding.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA. Ban.mishu.allos@mcmail.vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Allos
authors.forename: F T
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Lippy
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carlsen
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Washburn
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Blaser
mesh_terms: D001770:Blood Bactericidal Activity; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D003176:Complement C3 / Q000378:metabolism; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D011129:Polyradiculoneuropathy / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D012703:Serotyping; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D003176:Complement C3