The RT-qPCR analysis revealed that out of seventeen autophagy regulators tested, the levels of mRNA encoding autophagy transcription factor FOXO1 and four ATG molecules (ATG4B, ATG13, ATG14, and ULK1, a mammalian homolog of ATG1), were significantly reduced in the PBMCs of GBS patients compared to control subjects (Figure 2a and Supplementary Figure S8). This evidence concerns the gene FOXO1 and Guillain-Barre syndrome.