| Institution: | 1. Neuroimmunology Laboratories, School of Infection and Immunity, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK;2. School of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow, Bearsden, UK;3. Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy;4. Tierklinik Hofheim, Germany;5. Queen Mother Hospital for Animals, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield, UK
CVS Referrals, Bristol Veterinary Specialists, Bristol, UK;6. Neurology and Neurosurgery Division, San Marco Veterinary Clinic and Laboratory, Veggiano, Italy;7. Queens Veterinary School Hospital, Dept of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK;8. Small Animal Hospital, School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK;9. Small Animal Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium;10. Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists, Hursley, UK;11. Hamilton Specialist Referrals—IVC Evidensia, High Wycombe, UK;12. Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Foundation, Hannover, Germany;13. Queen Mother Hospital for Animals, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield, UK;14. School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Surrey, Guildford, UK;15. Division of Pathology, Public Health and Disease Investigation, School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK |
| Abstract: | Recent work identified anti-GM2 and anti-GalNAc-GD1a IgG ganglioside antibodies as biomarkers in dogs clinically diagnosed with acute canine polyradiculoneuritis, in turn considered a canine equivalent of Guillain-Barré syndrome. This study aims to investigate the serum prevalence of similar antibodies in cats clinically diagnosed with immune-mediated polyneuropathies. The sera from 41 cats clinically diagnosed with immune-mediated polyneuropathies (IPN), 9 cats with other neurological or neuromuscular disorders (ONM) and 46 neurologically normal cats (CTRL) were examined for the presence of IgG antibodies against glycolipids GM1, GM2, GD1a, GD1b, GalNAc-GD1a, GA1, SGPG, LM1, galactocerebroside and sulphatide. A total of 29/41 IPN-cats had either anti-GM2 or anti-GalNAc-GD1a IgG antibodies, with 24/29 cats having both. Direct comparison of anti-GM2 (sensitivity: 70.7%; specificity: 78.2%) and anti-GalNAc-GD1a (sensitivity: 70.7%; specificity: 70.9%) antibodies narrowly showed anti-GM2 IgG antibodies to be the better marker for identifying IPN-cats when compared to the combined ONM and CTRL groups (P = .049). Anti-GA1 and/or anti-sulphatide IgG antibodies were ubiquitously present across all sample groups, whereas antibodies against GM1, GD1a, GD1b, SGPG, LM1 and galactocerebroside were overall only rarely observed. Anti-GM2 and anti-GalNAc-GD1a IgG antibodies may serve as serum biomarkers for immune-mediated polyneuropathies in cats, as previously observed in dogs and humans. |
