Abstract

Objective: To detect antibodies to recombinant vacuolating cytotoxin (r-VacA) of Helicobacter pylori in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).

Methods: CSF samples from 13 patients with GBS (electrophysiologically classified as eight acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP), four acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN), and one unexcitable nerve conduction) and eight disease control patients were studied. The r-VacA protein was separated by SDS/PAGE, and Western blot analysis was carried out.

Results: Six of the 13 patients with GBS had a specific IgG antibody to VacA of H pylori, which was confirmed by absorption experiments using r-VacA. Every patient with positive CSF anti-r-VacA IgG had AIDP.

Conclusion: The sequence homology previously found between VacA and human (Na⁺+K⁺)-ATPase A subunit suggests that antibodies to VacA involve ion channels in abaxonal Schwann cell plasmalemma resulting in demyelination in some patients with GBS.