Investigation on the immune reactions against complex antigens including gangliosides in the neuroimmunological diseases

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Antiganglioside antibodies are frequently present in sera from patients with neuroimmunological diseases as Guillain Barre syndrome (GBS) and Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS). Each ganglioside coexists with phospholipids and other gangliosides in the plasma membrane. We investigated antibody reactivities against complex antigens composed of a ganglioside and a phospholipid or those composed of two species of gangliosides. Anti-GM1 IgG antibodies in GBS had stronger binding activities against a mixture of GM1 and such phospholipids as phosphatidic acid than against GM1 alone. However, such increase was not observed in anti-GQ1b IgG antibodies in MFS. This may be due to the difference in the amount of the negatively-charged sialic acid that each antigen has ; GM1 has one sialic acid whereas GQ1b has four sialic acids. Some GBS patients had the antibodies specific to the ganglioside complex, which is composed of two different gangliosides. Among them, the antibodies specific to GD1a-GD1b complex and/or GD1b-GT1b complex are associated with severe GBS requiring artificial ventilation. In addition, some MFS patients had the antibodies against ganglioside complexes that include GQ1b. For elucidating the pathogenetic roles of the antiganglioside antibodies in neuroimmunological diseases, we should pay attention on the antibody activities against those complex antigens. Investigating antibodies against the complex antigens also may be useful for diagnosis of neuroimmunological diseases as GBS and MFS.