gq1b-ganglioside and Cytomegalovirus-Infections

A 35-year-old male developed sensory abnormality of peripheral limbs and oral cavity after prior infection with diarrhea and cold symptoms. Hyperrhinolalia, nasopharyngeal reflux, double vision, and wobbling in walking rapidly progressed. Neurological examination revealed palatoplegia, omnidirectional ophthalmoplegia, hyperreflexia, sensory disturbance of extremities, and truncal and limb ataxia due to decreased deep sensation. A peripheral nerve conduction study found a slight decrease in sensory nerve action potential of the median nerve and a decrease in F wave frequency of the median nerve. Serum IgM-CMV antibody was positive on admission. After IVIg therapy, palatoplegia and ataxia markedly improved. In this case, GalNAc-GD1a and GM2 antibodies, which are often detected after CMV infection, were positive in addition to the GT1a and GQ1b antibodies, and it was assumed that these findings were associated with the palatoplegia, which is included in cranial nerve palsy. Pathophysiologically, the present case is considered to be an overlap with acute oropharyngeal palsy (AOP), which is a rare subtype of Guillain-Barre syndrome, and Fisher syndrome (FS). The clinical aspects of the present case suggest a continuous spectrum between AOP and FS.

Topics: Adult; Antibodies, Viral; Autoantibodies; Biomarkers; Cranial Nerve Diseases; Cytomegalovirus; Cytomegalovirus Infections; Diagnostic Techniques, Neurological; Disease Progression; Gangliosides; Humans; Immunoglobulin M; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; Male; Median Nerve; Miller Fisher Syndrome; Neural Conduction

To assess the production mechanism of anti-GQ1b autoantibody in Fisher syndrome (FS).. The authors conducted a prospective case-control serologic study of five antecedent infections (Campylobacter jejuni, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae) in 73 patients with FS and 73 sex- and age-matched hospital controls (HCs). Serologic evidence in FS patients of C. jejuni (21%) and H. influenzae (8%) infections was present significantly more often than in the HCs. None of the five pathogens examined was found in the 49 (67%) patients with FS. Anti-GQ1b IgG antibody was detected in most FS patients infected with C. jejuni or H. influenzae. Mass spectrometry analysis identified a C. jejuni strain (CF93-6) carrying a GT1a-like lipo-oligosaccharide (LOS) that had been isolated from an FS patient. Immunization of complex ganglioside-lacking knockout mice with the GT1a-like LOS generated IgG class monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that reacted with GQ1b and GT1a. Thin-layer chromatography with immunostaining showed that anti-GQ1b mAb bound to the C. jejuni LOS (50% of the 20 FS-related strains) more commonly than in the Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS)-related (7% of 70) or enteritis-related (20% of 65) strains. Anti-GM1 and anti-GD1a mAbs also reacted with the LOS from some FS-related strains (both 20%), but binding frequencies were higher in the GBS-related strains (74 and 57%). The GQ1b epitope was detected in 4 (40%) of the 10 FS-related H. influenzae strains but was absent in strains from patients with GBS (n = 4) and uncomplicated respiratory infections (n = 10).. C. jejuni and H. influenzae are related to Fisher syndrome (FS) development, and production of anti-GQ1b autoantibody is mediated by the GQ1b-mimicking lipo-oligosaccharides on those bacteria. The causative agents remain unclear in the majority of patients with FS.

Topics: Adult; Animals; Autoantibodies; Campylobacter Infections; Campylobacter jejuni; Case-Control Studies; Cytomegalovirus Infections; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections; Female; Gangliosides; Haemophilus Infections; Haemophilus influenzae; Humans; Lipopolysaccharides; Male; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Middle Aged; Miller Fisher Syndrome; Molecular Mimicry; Mycoplasma Infections; Prospective Studies

A 17-year-old girl was admitted to our hospital because of drowsiness, diplopia and gait difficulty. She had been well until ten days before admission when fever, drowsiness, headache and general fatigue developed. On admission, there were drowsiness, ophthalmoplegia, ataxia and hyporeflexia. CSF cells and anti-CMV antibody titers increased. CMV-DNA was detected in the CSF by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Serum anti-GQ1b antibody was positive. During recovery, forced laughing temporarily appeared. The neurological symptoms disappeared completely. CSF anti-CMV antibody titers became normalized and CSF CMV-DNA-PCR became negative. This is the first case report of Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis associated with CMV infection.

Topics: Adolescent; Autoantibodies; Brain Stem; Cytomegalovirus Infections; Encephalitis; Female; Gangliosides; Humans