Helicobacter pylori is the major triggering factor for gastric carcinoma, but only a small proportion of infected patients develop this disease. Differences in virulence observed among H. pylori strains, namely in the vacuolating cytotoxin vacA gene, may contribute to this discrepancy. Infection with vacA s1, i1 and m1 strains increases the risk for progression of gastric premalignant lesions a...

Helicobacter pylori persistently colonize the human stomach and have been linked to atrophic gastritis and gastric carcinoma. Although it is well known that H. pylori infection can result in hypochlorhydria, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain poorly understood. Here we show that VacA permeabilizes the apical membrane of gastric parietal cells and induces hypochlorhydria....

There are two alleles, m1 and m2, of the midregion of the vacuolating cytotoxin gene (vacA) of Helicobacter pylori which code for toxins with different cell specificities. Here we describe the construction of five chimeric strains in which regions of vacA were exchanged between the two genotypes. By analyzing the toxicity of these strains for HeLa and RK13 cells we have confirmed that a 148-ami...

BACKGROUND The development of clinically significant disease in South Africa is associated with the vacuolating cytotoxin gene (vacA) s1 genotype but not with the presence of the cytotoxin associated gene cagA. cagA occurs in >95% of South African isolates and is a variable marker for the entire cag pathogenicity island (PAI). AIM To characterise the cagPAI in South African isolates and to in...

VacA is a pore-forming toxin that has long been known to induce vacuolization in gastric epithelial cells and to be linked to gastric disorders caused by H. pylori infection. Its role as a major colonization and persistence determinant of H. pylori is less well-understood. The purpose of this review is to discuss the various target cell types of VacA and its mechanism of action; specifically, w...

BACKGROUND Determination of vacA mosaicism may be important because specific Helicobacter pylori vacA genotype can be used to predict different clinical outcome. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of vacA genotypes of Helicobacter pylori to cagA status and its development of peptic ulcer diseases in Korean patients. METHODS Gastric biopsy specimens were obtained from 53 pati...

BACKGROUND Infection with cagA-positive, cagA EPIYA motif ABD type, and vacA s1, m1, and i1 genotype strains of Helicobacter pylori is associated with an exacerbated inflammatory response and increased risk of gastroduodenal diseases. However, it is unclear whether the prevalence and virulence factor genotypes found in Southeast Asia are similar to those in Western countries. Here, we examined ...

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) are endocytosed by a clathrin- independent pathway into vesicles named GPI-AP-enriched early endosomal compartments (GEECs). We recently showed that the vacuolating toxin VacA secreted by Helicobacter pylori is endocytosed into the GEECs (Gauthier, N.C., P. Monzo, V. Kaddai, A. Doye, V. Ricci, and P. Boquet. 2005. Mol. Biol. Cell. 16:4852...

BACKGROUND Virulence factors of Helicobacter pylori are associated with peptic ulcer disease and may be also associated with the efficacy of treatment. AIMS To determine the relation between the vacA and the cagA status of H pylori, clinical disease, and treatment outcome. PATIENTS 121 patients with H pylori infection and peptic ulcer disease or functional dyspepsia were treated by quadrupl...