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Outer inflammatory protein A (OipA) is an important virulence factor associated with gastric cancer and ulcer development; however, the results have not been well established and turned out to be controversial. This study aims to elucidate the role of OipA in Helicobacter pylori infection using clinical strains harbouring oipA "on" and "off" motifs. Proteomics analysis was performed on AGS cell pre-infection and postinfection with H. pylori oipA "on" and "off" strains, using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. AGS apoptosis and cell cycle assays were performed. Moreover, expression of vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA) was screened using Western blotting. AGS proteins that have been suggested previously to play a role or associated with gastric disease were down-regulated postinfection with oipA "off" strains comparing to oipA "on" strains. Furthermore, oipA "off" and ΔoipA cause higher level of AGS cells apoptosis and G0/G1 cell-cycle arrest than oipA "on" strains. Interestingly, deletion of oipA increased bacterial VacA production. The capability of H. pylori to induce apoptosis and suppress expression of proteins having roles in human disease in the absence of oipA suggests that strains not expressing OipA may be less virulent or may even be protective against carcinogenesis compared those expressing OipA. This potentially explains the higher incidence of gastric cancer in East Asia where oipA "on" strains predominates., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Helicobacter pylori is a highly successful gastric pathogen. High genomic plasticity allows its adaptation to changing host environments. Complete genomes of H. pylori clinical isolate UM032 and its mice-adapted serial derivatives 298 and 299, generated using both PacBio RS and Illumina MiSeq sequencing technologies, were compared to identify novel elements responsible for host-adaptation. The acquisition of a jhp0562-like allele, which encodes for a galactosyltransferase, was identified in the mice-adapted strains. Our analysis implies a new β-1,4-galactosyltransferase role for this enzyme, essential for Ley antigen expression. Intragenomic recombination between babA and babB genes was also observed. Further, we expanded on the list of candidate genes whose expression patterns have been mediated by upstream homopolymer-length alterations to facilitate host adaption. Importantly, greater than four-fold reduction of mRNA levels was demonstrated in five genes. Among the down-regulated genes, three encode for outer membrane proteins, including BabA, BabB and HopD. As expected, a substantial reduction in BabA protein abundance was detected in mice-adapted strains 298 and 299 via Western analysis. Our results suggest that the expression of Ley antigen and reduced outer membrane protein expressions may facilitate H. pylori colonisation of mouse gastric epithelium., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Kazusa DNA Research Institute.)

Helicobacter pylori have been shown to influence physiological regulation of metabolic hormones involved in food intake, energy expenditure and body mass. It has been proposed that inducing H. pylori-induced gastric atrophy damages hormone-producing endocrine cells localized in gastric mucosal layers and therefore alter their concentrations. In a recent study, we provided additional proof in mice under controlled conditions that H. pylori and gut microbiota indeed affects circulating metabolic gut hormones and energy homeostasis. In this addendum, we presented data from follow-up investigations that demonstrated H. pylori and gut microbiota-associated modulation of metabolic gut hormones was independent and precedes H. pylori-induced histopathological changes in the gut of H. pylori-infected mice. Thus, H. pylori-associated argumentation of energy homeostasis is not caused by injury to endocrine cells in gastric mucosa.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a major gastric pathogen that has been associated with humans for more than 60,000 years. H. pylori causes different gastric diseases including dyspepsia, ulcers and gastric cancers. Disease development depends on several factors including the infecting H. pylori strain, environmental and host factors. Another factor that might influence H. pylori colonization and diseases is the gastric microbiota that was overlooked for long because of the belief that human stomach was a hostile environment that cannot support microbial life. Once established, H. pylori mainly resides in the gastric mucosa and interacts with the resident bacteria. How these interactions impact on H. pylori-caused diseases has been poorly studied in human. In this study, we analyzed the interactions between H. pylori and two bacteria, Streptococcus mitis and Lactobacillus fermentum that are present in the stomach of both healthy and gastric disease human patients. We have found that S. mitis produced and released one or more diffusible factors that induce growth inhibition and coccoid conversion of H. pylori cells. In contrast, both H. pylori and L. fermentum secreted factors that promote survival of S. mitis during the stationary phase of growth. Using a metabolomics approach, we identified compounds that might be responsible for the conversion of H. pylori from spiral to coccoid cells. This study provide evidences that gastric bacteria influences H. pylori physiology and therefore possibly the diseases this bacterium causes.

Background: Helicobacter pylori is the etiological agent for diseases ranging from chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer disease to gastric adenocarcinoma and primary gastric B-cell lymphoma. Emergence of resistance to antibiotics possesses a challenge to the effort to eradicate H. pylori using conventional antibiotic-based therapies. The molecular mechanisms that contribute to the resistance of these strains have yet to be identified and are important for understanding the evolutional pattern and selective pressure imposed by the environment., Methods and Findings: H. pylori was isolated from 102 patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal diseases, who underwent endoscopy at University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). The isolates were tested for their susceptibility on eleven antibiotics using Etest. Based on susceptibility test, 32.3% of the isolates were found to have primary metronidazole resistance; followed by clarithromycin (6.8%) and fluoroquinolones (6.8%). To further investigate the resistant strains, mutational patterns of gene rdxA, frxA, gyrA, gyrB, and 23S rRNA were studied. Consistent with the previous reports, metronidazole resistance was prevalent in the local population. However, clarithromycin, fluoroquinolone and multi-drug resistance were shown to be emerging. Molecular patterns correlated well with phenotypic data. Interestingly, multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains were found to be associated with higher minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) than their single-drug resistant (SDR) counterparts. Most importantly, clarithromycin-resistant strains were suggested to have a higher incidence for developing multi-drug resistance., Conclusion: Data from this study highlighted the urgency to monitor closely the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in the Malaysian population; especially that of clarithromycin and multi-drug resistance. Further study is needed to understand the molecular association between clarithromycin resistance and multi-drug resistance in H. pylori. The report serves a reminder that a strict antibiotic usage policy is needed in Malaysia and other developing countries (especially those where H. pylori prevalence remained high).

Helicobacter pylori is the main bacterial causative agent of gastroduodenal disorders and a risk factor for gastric adenocarcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. The draft genomes of 10 closely related H. pylori isolates from the multiracial Malaysian population will provide an insight into the genetic diversity of isolates in Southeast Asia. These isolates were cultured from gastric biopsy samples from patients with functional dyspepsia and gastric cancer. The availability of this genomic information will provide an opportunity for examining the evolution and population structure of H. pylori isolates from Southeast Asia, where the East meets the West.