Ganglioside complexes: autoantibody targets in a rabbit model of neuropathy

MOYANOAL,; COMÍN R,; ALANIZ ME,; LARDONE RD,; NORES GA.

Mar del Plata,

Congreso; XLIII Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigaciones en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (SAIB); 2007

Recent studies showed that some ganglioside complexes (GSCs) are target antigens for serum antibodies in patients with Guillain?Barré syndrome (GBS) and suggested that anti-GSC antibodies may be involved with particular clinical features of GBS. Conformational epitopes recognized by these antibodies may be present in neuronal plasma membranes where gangliosides reside clustered in functional microdomains. Consequently, binding of antibodies to GSCs are likely to cause nerve dysfunction. In this study, we induced an experimental neuropathy (resembling GBS) by sensitization of rabbits with bovine brain gangliosides according to the procedure of Yuki et al. (Ann. Neurol. (2001) 49: 712). Rabbit serum samples were obtained on the acutephase of neurological symptoms and screened for immunoreactivity against glycolipids (GA1, GM1, GD1b, GD1a and GD1b) by thin layer chromatography immunostaining. All serum samples displayed typical IgGantibodies against GA1, GM1 and GD1b . In addition to this reactivity, they also showed IgG-reactivity against GM1/GD1b, GM1/GD1a and GM1/GT1b complexes. These results are the first description of experimental induction of this type of antibodies and provide new evidences about the role of anti-GSCs antibodies in the development of neuropathies.