Higher motility enhances bacterial density and inflammatory response in dyspeptic patients infected with Helicobacter pylori.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Motility mediated by the flagella of Helicobacter pylori is important for the cells to move toward the gastric mucus in niches adjacent to the epithelium; then, H. pylori uses the adhesin SabA to interact with sialyl-Le(x) on inflammatory host cells for persistent infection. Here, we reveal the clinical association of bacterial motility, SabA expression, and pathological outcomes.

METHODS:

Ninety-six clinical isolates were screened for bacterial motility, and the expression of SabA of each isolate was confirmed by Western blotting. H. pylori-infected patients were assessed for their bacterial density, sialyl-Le(x) expression, inflammatory scores, and clinical diseases.

RESULTS:

The mean diameter in the motility assay was 17 mm, and eight (8.3%) of the strains had impaired motility, with a diameter <5 mm. H. pylori density in cardia, the acute inflammatory score in the body locus, and the prevalence rate of gastric atrophy were increased in patients infected with higher-motility strains (p = .023, <.001, or <.001, respectively). The total inflammatory scores (both acute and chronic) and bacterial density dramatically increased in patients expressing the sialyl-Le(x) antigen and infected with higher-motility, SabA-positive H. pylori (p = .016, .01, or .005, respectively).

CONCLUSION:

These results suggest that the higher motility of H. pylori enhances pathological outcomes, and the SabA-sialyl-Le(x) interaction has a synergistic effect on virulence of the higher-motility strains.

• Authors: Cheng-Yen Kao, Bor-Shyang Sheu, Shew-Meei Sheu, Hsiao-Bai Yang, Wei-Lun Chang, Hsiu-Chi Cheng, Jiunn-Jong Wu
• Journal: Helicobacter (Helicobacter) Vol. 17 Issue 6 Pg. 411-6 (Dec 2012) ISSN: 1523-5378 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 23066970 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Chemical References

• Adhesins, Bacterial
• SabA protein, Helicobacter pylori

Topics

• Adhesins, Bacterial (biosynthesis)
• Adult
• Aged
• Bacterial Load
• Blotting, Western
• Dyspepsia (microbiology, physiopathology)
• Female
• Gastritis (microbiology, pathology)
• Helicobacter Infections (microbiology, pathology)
• Helicobacter pylori (isolation & purification, pathogenicity, physiology)
• Humans
• Locomotion
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Virulence