Guillain Barré syndrome (GBS): new insights in the molecular mimicry between C. jejuni and human peripheral nerve (HPN) proteins

•Cross reactivity of HNP and CJ proteins with GBS sera was monitored.•The main candidate proteins were identified.•Highly conserved chaperone proteins seem involved in GBS neuropathy.

Profile and immunoreactivity of proteins from HPN tissue, and from Campylobacter jejuni (O:19) were investigated. Proteins were extracted, separated by SDS-PAGE, their cross reactivity monitored by Western blotting, and identified by nHPLC-nESI-HRMS analysis. Proteins from C. jejuni, at Mw ~ 70 KDa were chaperone/co-chaperone proteins (GroEL, DnaK and HtpG). In the corresponding HPN band were serum albumin, neurofilament light peptide, cytoskeletal keratins and one HSP 70 and one HSP60. These chaperones reciprocally share high primary sequence homology and conservation of their known epitopes. These findings suggest that HSP chaperones may be suitable candidates involved in the molecular mimicry triggering GBS.

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