Pathology of the Guillain-Barr� syndrome

Abstract

The Guillain-Barré syndrome is a distinctive neuropathy characterized pathologically by the presence of inflammatory lesions which occur scattered throughout the peripheral nervous system. The lesions consist of circumscribed areas in which myelin is lost in the presence of lymphocytes and macrophages. Myelin damage of effected largely by macrophages, which penetrate the basement membrane around nerve fibers and strip what appears to be normal myelin away from the body of the Schwann cell and off the axon. While there is evidence that this activity is immune mediated, the precise mechanism that leads macrophages to seek out and amputate a specialized region of the Schwann cell plasma membrane remains unexplained.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome

“…Multifocal mononuclear cell infiltration is observed in peripheral nerves, nerve root, and cranial nerves throughout the body. Myelin destruction is caused by invasion of macrophages targeted against antigens on the membrane of Schwann cells or the myelin sheath [13]. Activation of macrophages is mediated by T lymphocytes.…”

Passive Transfer of Experimental Autoimmune Neuritis by IL‐12 and IL‐18 Synergistically Potentiated Lymphoid Cells is Regulated by NKR‐P1+ Cells

“…Experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN) is a demyelinating inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy that represents an animal model for understanding the mechanisms of acute and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP or Guillain-Barré syndrome, GBS and CIDP) [1,2]. EAN can be induced by immunizing susceptible animals with peripheral nerve myelin [3], peptides [4] or by passively transferred with lymph node cells (LNC) [5].…”

Chemokines and peripheral nerve demyelination

“…The role of chemokines (CK) in peripheral nervous system (PNS) disease is suggested by a number of experimental observations demonstrating leukocyte in®ltration around peripheral nerve ®bers in inammatory neuropathies (Prineas, 1981). In many PNS diseases, even in non-in¯ammatory PNS diseases like hereditary polyneuropathy, ischemic neuropathy or axonal degeneration after sciatic nerve transection, mononuclear cell in®ltration is involved during the development of pathological changes (Cornblath et al, 1990;Venezie et al, 1995).…”