Frontiers in Neurology (Nov 2021)

Anti-ganglioside Antibodies in Guillain-Barre Syndrome: A Novel Immunoblotting-Panel Assay

  • Jiting Zhu,
  • Yuanyuan Zhang,
  • Runyun Li,
  • Yi Lin,
  • Ying Fu,
  • Yaping Yan,
  • Wenli Zhu,
  • Ning Wang,
  • Zaiqiang Zhang,
  • Guorong Xu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2021.760889
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12

Abstract

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Objective: This study aimed to determine the diagnostic efficiency of a novel immunoblotting detection assay for anti-ganglioside antibodies (AGAs) in the Guillain–Barre syndrome (GBS).Method: Serum immunoglobulin (IgG and IgM) of AGAs were measured in 121 participants from a registered cohort study of immune-mediated neuropathies and 29 healthy controls by immunoblotting panel assay. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (PPV) of the assay were compared to calculate the diagnostic accuracy.Result: In our cohort, any of the AGAs were positive in 42.4% of the GBS patients. The sensitivity and specificity of AGAs (both IgG and IgM) in the diagnosis of GSB were 42 and 76% while for IgG-AGAs were 35 and 87%. AGAs positivity had a significant association with the AMAN subtype (P = 0.0004), and the sensitivity, specificity of AGAs in AMAN were 86, 69%, respectively with high (AUC = 0.78, p = 0.002) discriminative powers. GM1-IgG AGA was more common and specific to AMAN patients than other GBS forms (p = 0.008).Conclusion: Our novel immunoblotting detection assay could complement GBS diagnosis. IgG-AGAs were more likely to be detected in GBS, and GM1-IgG AGA could assist AMAN diagnosis.

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