The Role of Antiglycolipid Antibodies in Neurological Disorders

Glycolipids have been shown to be antigens for circulating antibodies in autoimmune processes affecting the nervous system like neuropathy associated with IgM paraproteinemia, Guillain Barré syndrome (GBS), multifocal neuropathy, and variants thereof. The antibody titers, the Ig-classes, and the ant...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1998-06, Vol.845 (1), p.341-352
Main Author: FREDMAN, PAM
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Autoantibodies - blood
Campylobacter Infections - complications
Campylobacter Infections - immunology
Campylobacter jejuni
Carbohydrate Sequence
Gangliosides - chemistry
Gangliosides - immunology
Glycolipids - chemistry
Glycolipids - immunology
Humans
Immunoglobulin M - blood
Molecular Sequence Data
Nervous System Diseases - blood
Nervous System Diseases - immunology
Oligosaccharides - chemistry
Paraproteinemias - blood
Paraproteinemias - immunology
Polyradiculoneuropathy - blood
Polyradiculoneuropathy - etiology
Polyradiculoneuropathy - immunology
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Summary:Glycolipids have been shown to be antigens for circulating antibodies in autoimmune processes affecting the nervous system like neuropathy associated with IgM paraproteinemia, Guillain Barré syndrome (GBS), multifocal neuropathy, and variants thereof. The antibody titers, the Ig-classes, and the antibody specificity vary between studies and disease groups. The immunogens are in general unknown. However, GBS is often associated with an infection with Campylobacter jejuni, which expresses a lipopolysaccharide structure similar to the carbohydrate epitopes in sialic acid containing glycolipids and gangliosides and thus a potential primary antigen for antiganglioside antibodies. The antiglycolipid specificity will most likely reflect the primary antigen carbohydrate epitopes, which also determine the target cell or tissue structure and the pathology. These factors might add to the inconsistent results obtained and that have led to the question: Are antiglycolipid antibodies of any clinical significance?
ISSN:0077-8923
1749-6632
DOI:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1998.tb09686.x