Involvement of the Helicobacter pylori plasticity region and cag pathogenicity island genes in the development of gastroduodenal diseases

• Published in: European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases 2008-11, Vol.27 (11), p.1053-1059
• Main Authors: Pacheco, A. R., Proença-Módena, J. L., Sales, A. I. L., Fukuhara, Y., da Silveira, W. D., Pimenta-Módena, J. L., de Oliveira, R. B., Brocchi, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial diseases of the digestive system and abdomen; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brazil; Cancer; Clinical outcomes; Disease; Female; Gastritis - microbiology; Gastritis - pathology; Genes; Genes, Bacterial; Genomic Islands; Helicobacter Infections - microbiology; Helicobacter Infections - pathology; Helicobacter pylori; Helicobacter pylori - genetics; Helicobacter pylori - pathogenicity; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infections; Infectious diseases; Internal Medicine; Male; Medical Microbiology; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pathogens; Peptic Ulcer - microbiology; Peptic Ulcer - pathology; Plasticity; Ulcers; Virulence; Virulence Factors - genetics
• ISSN: 0934-9723; 1435-4373
• DOI: 10.1007/s10096-008-0549-8

Infection by Helicobacter pylori is associated with the development of several gastroduodenal diseases, including gastritis, peptic ulcer disease (gastric ulcers and duodenal ulcers), and gastric adenocarcinoma. Although a number of putative virulence factors have been reported for H. pylori , there are conflicting results regarding their association with specific H. pylori -related diseases. In this work, we investigated the presence of virB11 and cagT , located in the left half of the cag pathogenicity island ( cag PAI), and the jhp917 – jhp918 sequences, components of the dupA gene located in the plasticity zone of H. pylori , in Brazilian isolates of H. pylori . We also examined the association between these genes and H. pylori -related gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric and duodenal ulcers in an attempt to identify a gene marker for clinical outcomes related to infection by H. pylori . The cagT gene was associated with peptic ulcer disease and gastric ulcers, whereas the virB11 gene was detected in nearly all of the samples. The dupA gene was not associated with duodenal ulcers or any gastroduodenal disease here analyzed. These results suggest that cagT could be a useful prognostic marker for the development of peptic ulcer disease in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. They also indicate that cagT is associated with greater virulence and peptic ulceration, and that this gene is an essential component of the type IV secretion system of H. pylori .