Campylobacter jejuni and the Guillain-Barre' syndrome

Campylobacter jejuni is an enteric bacterium that causes human gastroenteritis worldwide. Some C. jejuni strains exhibiting human ganglioside-like lipooligosaccharide (LOS) structures, such as GM1 ganglioside, can induce an autoimmune neuropathy of the peripheral nervous system known as the Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). This GBS-inducible determinant is encoded by a gene cluster, which shows a high degree of variation among C. jejuni strains. The experiments presented in this thesis were conducted to give a better insight into the LOS synthesis genes in relation to the pathophysiology of C. jejuni. Firstly, a C. jejuni strain without GM1-like molecules was shown to be able to take up large DNA fragments, including LOS synthesis genes, from a strain expressing GM1-like molecules and consequently be transformed into a number of potential GBS-inducible transformants, which exhibited a high degree of genetic and phenotypic diversity. The ability of C. jejuni to take up and integrate foreign DNA explains the genome plasticity observed in this pathogen. Secondly, while attempting to analyse transcription of the LOS gene cluster, neither published methods nor any commercially available kits for RNA isolation could produce DNA-free RNA from C. jejuni. Combinations of these methods were trialled and only the combination of RNAzolB, TURBO DNase treatment, and acid phenol extraction was able to produce DNA-free RNA. The RNA isolated from most C. jejuni strains showed different RNA patterns to that of other bacteria. In addition the RNA from C. jejuni seemed closely associated with DNA compaired to RNA from other organisms. This might be caused by species-specific DNA conformation or chromatin structure. Thirdly, bidirectional transcription was observed in the LOS gene cluster. Both DNA strands were transcribed but transcription of the non-coding strands was at a lower rate, and both sense and antisense transcripts of each LOS gene tested were responsive to acid stress. This unusual transcription might have a potential effect on the expression of the GBS-inducing determinant. Finally, one of the LOS genes, the htrB gene, was further analysed. It was shown that expression of the htrB gene affects morphology, viability, growth ability, and sensitivity to stress environments. These results showed that the LOS molecule of C. jejuni is involved in many processes and is an important molecule for survival

Intravenous Immunoglobulin Treatment in Multifocal Motor Neuropathy

# The Author(s) 2010. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Introduction Multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) is characterized by asymmetric weakness of limbs and the electrophysiological finding of conduction block in motor nerves. Conduction block is the inability of nerves to propagate action potentials and is probably caused b

Expression of the htrB gene is essential for responsiveness of Salmonella typhimurium and Campylobacter jejuni to harsh environments

In Campylobacter jejuni, an htrB homologous gene is located in the lipo-oligosaccharide synthesis gene cluster. This study examined the effects of htrB expression on the responsiveness of Salmonella typhimurium and C. jejuni to harsh environments. Complementation experiments showed that the C. jejuni htrB gene could restore the normal morphology of the Salmonella htrB mutant, and its ability to grow without inhibition under heat, acid and osmotic stresses, but not bile stress. This indicated that the htrB genes in C. jejuni and S. typhimurium exhibit similar pleiotropic effects. Moreover, quantitative real-time RT-PCR showed that expression of the C. jejuni htrB gene was upregulated under acid, heat, oxidative and osmotic stresses, but did not change under bile stress. This indicated that the C. jejuni htrB gene plays a role in regulating cell responses to various environmental changes. Furthermore, deletion mutation of the htrB gene in C. jejuni was lethal, indicating that the htrB gene is essential for C. jejuni survival. Therefore, these results showed that expression of the htrB gene is essential for the response of S. typhimurium and C. jejuni to environmental stresses

Bidirectional transcription of lipooligosaccharide synthesis genes from Campylobacter jejuni

The lipooligosaccharide (LOS) molecules of Campylobacter jejuni are involved in virulence and induction of the Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). This study analysed the transcription of the LOS synthesis genes from the GBS-inducing C jejuni strain HB 93-13 under microaerobic conditions. Fourteen consecutive genes Cj1132c, waaC, htrB, wlaNC, wlaND, cgtA, cgtB, cstII, neuB, neuC, neuA, wlaVA, wlaQA, and waaF were included. The results of rapid amplification of cDNA ends and single-stranded ligation of complementary ends showed initiation sites with potential promoter regions on both DNA strands in the Cj1132c/waaC, cgtB/cstII, and wlaQA/waaF strand-switch regions. Other termini without recognisable promoter region were also found throughout the LOS gene cluster, suggesting a low specificity of the polymerase during transcription. In addition, all gene junction regions were cloned into the shuttle vector pMW10 carrying the promoterless lacZ gene to identify functional promoter sites. Bidirectional active promoters were found in the strand-switch regions. The results of RT-PCR and cDNA blotting indicated that transcriptional linkage occurred between different operons, indicating a lack of transcription termination within the LOS gene cluster. Moreover, the results of semi-quantitative RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR showed that both DNA strands were transcribed but transcription of the coding strand was at a higher rate. The results presented here provide an insight into transcription of the LOS synthesis gene cluster of C jejuni

Exchange of lipooligosaccharide synthesis genes creates potential Guillain-Barre syndrome-inducible strains of Campylobacter jejuni

Human ganglioside-like structures, such as GM1, found on some Campylobacter jejuni strains have been linked to inducing the Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). This study shows that a C jejuni strain without GM1-like molecules acquired large DNA fragments, including lipooligosaccharide synthesis genes, from a strain expressing GM1-like molecules and consequently transformed into a number of potential GBS-inducible transformants, which exhibited a high degree of genetic and phenotypic diversity

Evaluation of eight RNA isolation methods for transcriptional analysis in Campylobacter jejuni

DNA-free RNA samples are essential to investigate gene regulation using real-time RT-PCR. This study evaluated eight RNA isolation methods in combination with TURBO DNase treatment and acid phenol extractions for their ability to produce DNA-free RNA from Campylobacter jejuni strains