Serum-mediated Schwann cell cytotoxicity in the Guillain-Barré syndrome.

To study the anti-Schwann cell activity of serum from patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), we used a 51Cr-release cytotoxicity assay. Specific release of 51Cr mediated by GBS serum did not differ from that with normals or disease controls. Heating sera from GBS patients or controls at 56 or 50 degrees C for 30 minutes markedly decreased 51Cr specific release, which could not be restored by addition of either 10% guinea pig serum or normal human serum. Thus, both GBS and control serum contain heat-labile serum factors that can induce cytotoxic reactions by Schwann cells.