Surface hydrophobicity does not identify ulcerogenic Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from children and adolescents

• Published in: Colloids and surfaces, B, Biointerfaces B, Biointerfaces, 1999-10, Vol.15 (3), p.365-370
• Main Authors: Lin, Frank Y.H, Policova, Zdenka, Wilhelm Neumann, A, Sherman, Philip M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Children; Helicobacter pylori; Hydrophobicity; Ulcers
• ISSN: 0927-7765; 1873-4367
• DOI: 10.1016/S0927-7765(99)00101-0

Helicobacter pylori is a recently recognized bacteria which colonizes the stomach and causes gastritis, gastric cancers and peptic ulceration. However gastric and duodenal ulcers occur in only a minority of H. pylori-infected individuals. Surface hydrophobicity is an important virulence factor of many pathogenic bacteria since it is known to be involved in mediating mucosal adherence. In this study, surface hydrophobicity of H. pylori strains originally isolated from children and adolescents was correlated with gastroduodenal pathology including both endoscopic evidence of duodenal ulceration and histologic evidence of duodenitis. Contact angle measurements on 11 H. pylori isolates were used to characterize surface hydrophobicity. Axisymetric drop-shape analysis revealed contact angles ranging from 7.5 to 15.3°. Contact angles of the strains isolated from patients with duodenal ulcers (11.9±2.6°) were not different from values in isolates obtained from children with gastritis alone (8.9±5.2°; P=0.16). Contact angles of H. pylori isolated from patients with and without duodenitis were also comparable (10.9±2.8° and 10.0±9.6°; P=0.69). These findings indicate that additional virulence properties likely are required for H. pylori to induce peptic ulceration in infected humans.