Guillain-Barré Syndrome Animal Model: The First Proof of Molecular Mimicry in Human Autoimmune Disorder
Figure 2
Characteristic findings for the acute motor axonal neuropathy rabbit model. (a) Rabbit with flaccid limb weakness induced by sensitization with Campylobacter jejuni lipo-oligosaccharide. Its body is splayed, all extremities extended, head on the floor not sitting upright in the usual compact, hunched posture. (b) Longitudinal section of the cauda equina. The nodes of Ranvier are stained selectively with protein G (arrowheads). Scale bar, 10 μm. (c) Electron micrograph of a nerve fiber with macrophage infiltration. A macrophage (M) occupies the periaxonal space between the atrophic axon (A) and surrounding myelin sheath which appears almost normal. Scale bar, 5 μm. (d) Wallerian-like degeneration of nerve fibers in a paralyzed rabbit killed 39 days after onset. Sciatic nerve cross section with toluidine blue stain. Myelin ovoids produced by Wallerian-like degeneration of myelinated fibers are present (arrowheads). Scale bar, 10 μm. Muscle Nerve 35:691–711, Copyright 2007, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
