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Pathological Roles of Ganglioside Mimicry in Guillain–Barré Syndrome and Related Neuropathies

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The Molecular Immunology of Complex Carbohydrates-3

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 705))

Abstract

Gangliosides, sialic acid-containing glycosphingolipids (GSLs), are a family of diverse, highly complex molecules localized primarily on the plasma membrane and particularly abundant in the nervous tissues of vertebrates. Research interest in gangliosides is not limited to their normal biological functions, such as neurotrophicity, cell–cell recognition and adhesion, cellular differentiation and growth, intercellular signaling, and trafficking and/or sorting [17, 19, 61, 62], or on the important constituents of cell surface microdomains or lipid rafts [18, 25, 44]. Research is also focused on the role of gangliosides in the pathogenic mechanisms of many immune-mediated neurological disorders, such as Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) [5, 57, 63]. For the putative pathogenic roles of gangliosides, accumulating evidence indicates that (a) gangliosides are localized in peripheral nerve system (PNS) myelin and axolemma, and degeneration of myelin and axons accounts for the loss of sensory and motor functions; (b) animal models of peripheral neuropathies can be established using certain pure gangliosides as the immunogens; and (c) the pathophysiological effects of the antibodies could be due to one or more of the following mechanisms: an antibody-mediated, complement-dependent process; a cell-mediated degenerating process; and a conduction block at the node of Ranvier.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants to Robert K. Yu. We thank Ms. Diana Westbrook for her skillful editorial assistance.

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  1. Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics and Institute of Neuroscience, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA

    Robert K. Yu

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  1. Robert K. Yu
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  2. Toshio Ariga
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  3. Seigo Usuki
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  4. Ken-ichi Kaida
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Correspondence to Robert K. Yu .

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  1. College of Medicine, Institute of Molecular&Cellular Biology, Chang-Gung University, Kwei-San, Tao-Yuan, 333, Taiwan R.O.C.

    Albert M. Wu

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Yu, R.K., Ariga, T., Usuki, S., Kaida, Ki. (2011). Pathological Roles of Ganglioside Mimicry in Guillain–Barré Syndrome and Related Neuropathies. In: Wu, A. (eds) The Molecular Immunology of Complex Carbohydrates-3. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 705. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7877-6_17

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