CAMPYLOBACTER JEJUNI CST-II POLYMORPHISMS AND ASSOCIATION WITH DEVELOPMENT OF GUILLAIN-BARRÉ SYNDROME

Abstract

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is now recognized as a complication following Campylobacter jejuni infection. Many C jejuni strains contain a sialylated outer core lipooligosaccharide (LOS) and exhibit ganglioside-like mimicry with human gangliosides such as GM1 and GD1a. A sialyltransferase, cst-II , may be present in C jejuni , and cst-II polymorphisms confer different functional enzyme activity leading to expression of different ganglioside mimics in the LOS.1 C jejuni isolates from Japanese patients showed a strong association of Cst-II (Thr-51) with GBS.2,3 The purpose of our study was to confirm whether Thr-51 is associated with GBS-related C jejuni using a collection of isolates from different worldwide locations. ### Methods. We selected cst-II –positive isolates for analysis; some were previously characterized.4 Eighty-four isolates from GBS patients (n = 27) or patients with diarrhea (GI) (n = 57) were analyzed. GBS and GI isolates comprised 11 HS serotypes and 26 multilocus electropherotypes (ETs).5 Among HS:19 strains, 11 different ETs were represented. GBS subtypes were not known for the majority of …