Sulglycotide effect on the proteolytic and lipolytic activities of Helicobacter pylori toward gastric mucus.
OBJECTIVES: Infection with Helicobacter pylori is now recognized as a major factor in the etiology of gastric disease, and among the detrimental effects this bacterium exerts on the mucosal integrity is the elaboration of extracellular protease and lipase enzymes capable of mucus protein and lipids degradation. We present here evidence that the activities of these enzymes are inhibited by an gastroprotective agent, sulglycotide. METHODS: The grown colonies of bacterium were washed with saline, filtered through sterilization filter, and the filtrate used as the enzyme source. RESULTS: In the absence of sulglycotide, the H. pylori protease caused extensive degradation of human gastric mucus, while free fatty acids, glycerol monooleate and lysophosphatidylcholine were produced by the action of H. pylori lipase and phospholipase A enzymes. Introduction of sulglycotide to the incubation systems led to the reduction in the rate of mucus protein and lipid degradation. The rate of proteolysis inhibition was proportional to sulglycotide concentration up to 45 micrograms/ml, at which point a 43% reduction in mucus degradation was attained, whereas the maximum inhibition of lipase (39%) and phospholipase A (98%) activities occurred at a sulglycotide concentration of 100 micrograms/ml. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that sulglycotide is capable of counteracting the mucolytic activity of H. pylori, and thus may be of value in the therapy of H. pylori-associated gastric diseases.