PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

N Figura

Publications and source records attributed to N Figura.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

In vitro virulence factors of Arcobacter butzleri strains isolated from superficial water samples.

Eighteen isolates of A. butzleri from river water samples were examined for their biotype, serogroup and putative virulence characteristics. Toxin profiles based on cytotonic, cytotoxic and cytolethal distending factors were determined after analysis responses in Vero and CHO cells Adhesivity and invasivity tests were performed on HeLa and Intestine 407 cells. Six biotypes and five serogroups were determined in our isolates. All strains but one induced cytotoxic effects on cells in culture. The cytotoxic negative strain caused elongation of CHO cells (a cytotonic-like effect). This strain was the only one which adhered to cells in vitro. Invasiveness was never observed. Our results show a phenotypic heterogeneity of arcobacters isolated from environmental sources, and indicate that some strains could be potentially virulent.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Helicobacter pylori exotoxins and gastroduodenal diseases associated with cytotoxic strain infection.

This paper describes the characteristics of exotoxins produced by Helicobacter pylori, and in particular the vacuolating toxin (VacA) and the cytotoxin-associated protein (CagA). The possible association between infection by strains of certain phenotypic or genomic types and the seriousness of gastroduodenal diseases is discussed. Helicobacter pylori induces various morphological changes in cells in vitro, but only infection by strains which induce cytovacuolation has been studied at present. In its native form, VacA is a protein aggregate made of subunits with a mass of 95 kDa. In vitro it stimulates a cellular v-type ATPase present on the endosomes and creates an acidic environment inside the vacuoles. It also alters in vitro a K(+)-dependent phosphatase activity and could impair the flux of sodium through the cells. Purified VacA causes ulceration in mice; experimental infection in mice with strains which also express the CagA protein causes gastric erosions, vacuolation and epithelial and stromal polymorphonuclear (PMN) cell infiltration. In vivo vacuolation can be observed in gastric cells from patients infected with type I (VacA-CagA positive) H. pylori. CagA is a protein of 128-140 kDa molecular weight, noncytotoxic and highly immunogenic. It is coexpressed in approximately 70% of cytotoxin-producing strains. In CagA positive strain infection, increased levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8) are secreted by the colonized gastric mucosa. Patients infected by cytotoxic strains and/or patients with anti-CagA antibodies are more likely to have active gastritis, and are more likely to develop peptic ulcer or gastric cancer. The different outcomes of infection could be determined by host factors, diet, or by the age at which infection is acquired.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Allelic variation in the cagA gene of Helicobacter pylori obtained from Korea compared to the United States.

OBJECTIVE: Helicobacter pylori is an important factor in the development of duodenal ulcer disease and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of gastric adenocarcinoma. It has been suggested that the cagA gene is a marker for more virulent strains of H. pylori. METHODS: We determined the prevalence of the cagA gene in 60 clinical isolates [34 from gastric carcinoma patients (CA), 26 from duodenal ulcer patients (DU)] from Korea, a country with a high incidence and mortality from gastric cancer. Genomic DNA was polymerase chain reaction-amplified by using two different primer sets for the cagA gene. The first cagA primer set amplifies a 297-bp product from the midregion of the cagA gene. The second primer set, which was previously established in a patient population from the Houston area (21 DU patients, 20 from individuals with asymptomatic gastritis) amplified a 1.4-kb region further downstream in the cagA gene. RESULTS: The expected 297 bp polymerase chain reaction amplicon for cagA was identified in 59/60 (98.3%) H. pylori isolates from Korea (33/34 CA, 26/26 DU), and in 36/41 (88%) isolates from the Houston area (20/21 DU, 16/20 asymptomatic gastritis) (NS). Using the second cagA primer set, the expected 1.4-kb product was found in only 1/60 (1.7%) H. pylori isolates from Korea (1/34 CA, 0/26 DU), and in 36/41 (88%) of isolates from the Houston area (20/21 DU, 16/20 GST) (p < 0.001). Western blot analysis showed that all Korean H. pylori isolates expressed cagA. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of the cagA gene in H. pylori isolates from Korean patients with gastric adenocarcinoma or duodenal ulcers indicates that the cagA gene is common in H. pylori strains, and therefore, is not reliable as a single marker for the discrimination of H. pylori strains with respect to a specific disease. Our data further suggest that allelic variations in the genome of H. pylori strains may exist and that distinct H. pylori populations may circulate in different geographic regions.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1995

Development of a mouse model of Helicobacter pylori infection that mimics human disease.

The human pathogen Helicobacter pylori is associated with gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric cancer. The pathogenesis of H. pylori infection in vivo was studied by adapting fresh clinical isolates of bacteria to colonize the stomachs of mice. A gastric pathology resembling human disease was observed in infections with cytotoxin-producing strains but not with noncytotoxic strains. Oral immunization with purified H. pylori antigens protected mice from bacterial infection. This mouse model will allow the development of therapeutic agents and vaccines against H. pylori infection in humans.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The production of neuraminidase and fucosidase by Helicobacter pylori: their possible relationship to pathogenicity.

The pathogenicity of enterobacteria often correlates with their production of neuraminidase (sialidase). Forty-nine Helicobacter pylori isolates have therefore been examined for their production of neuraminidase and other glycosidases. All 49 isolates produced considerable neuraminidase (median 228 IU/microg protein, interquartile range 121-370), pH optimum 7.5. Nine of the 49 also produced fucosidase (median 23 IU/microg protein, interquartile range 12-39), pH optimum 7.0. Production of these enzymes did not correlate with bacterial Cag A expression or duodenal ulceration. Neutrophils exposed to neuraminidase show increased adherence to endothelium so the neuraminidase production by H. pylori could partly explain the predominant neutrophil inflammatory infiltrate seen in H. pylori-associated gastritis. Inhibition of this enzyme by use of neuraminidase-inhibitors could be a useful therapeutic approach.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Analysis of expression of CagA and VacA virulence factors in 43 strains of Helicobacter pylori reveals that clinical isolates can be divided into two major types and that CagA is not necessary for expression of the vacuolating cytotoxin.

Colonization of the mucosa of the stomach and the duodenum by Helicobacter pylori is the major cause of acute and chronic gastroduodenal pathologies in humans. Duodenal ulcer formation strongly correlates with the expression of an antigen (CagA) that is usually coeexpressed with the vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA), a protein that causes ulceration in the stomach of mice. However, the relationship between these two virulence factors is unknown. To define whether CagA and VacA are coexpressed in all clinical isolates and their relationships, we collected 43 clinical isolates of H. pylori and studied their genetic and phenotypic properties. Based on this analysis, most of the strains could be classified into two major types. Type I bacteria had the gene coding for CagA and expressed the CagA protein and the vacuolating cytotoxin. Type II bacteria did not have the gene coding for CagA and did not express either the CagA protein or the vacuolating cytotoxin. Type I and type II bacteria represented 56 and 16%, respectively, of the 43 clinical isolates, while the remaining 28% had an intermediate phenotype, expressing CagA independently of VacA or vice versa. This finding shows that although it is present in most cytotoxic strains, CagA is not necessary for the expression of the vacuolating cytotoxin.

Antigens, Bacterial↗
PubMed1995

Helicobacter pylori-specific CD4+ T-cell clones from peripheral blood and gastric biopsies.

Colonization of human gastric mucosa with cytotoxic strains of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori is associated with peptic ulcer and with chronic gastritis. Since little is known about the T-cell response to H. pylori, we investigated the CD4+ T-cell response both in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and at the site of infection. First, we compared the bulk PBMC proliferative response to the bacterium in individuals with and without symptoms of gastroduodenal disease. We found that the PBMCs from virtually all individuals proliferate in response to heat-inactivated bacteria. Second, we cloned H. pylori-specific CD4+ T lymphocytes from the PBMCs of three patients and from both the gastric mucosa and PBMCs of a fourth patient. We have found that CD4+ T-cell clones specific for H. pylori from peripheral blood samples and gastric mucosae of infected patients are major histocompatibility complex class II restricted and discriminate between several cytotoxic and noncytotoxic bacterial strains. Moreover, they are polyclonal in terms of T-cell receptor usage and major histocompatibility complex restriction. Our results demonstrate that the T-cell response to the whole bacterium in PBMCs does not correlate with antibody response, infection, or disease. However, H. pylori-specific CD4+ T cells are detectable, at the clonal level, in both the periphery and gastric mucosa of infected patients. Localization of these cells at the site of disease suggests they are effectors of the immune response to the bacteria.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Progress in defining the inflammatory cascade.

Helicobacter pylori infection is characterized by an inflammatory response in the gastric epithelium, the intensity of which appears to be type-strain specific. Infections caused by Type 1 H. pylori organisms, i.e., those expressing VacA (the cytotoxin) and CagA (the cytotoxin-associated protein), are associated with a strong polymorph mucosal infiltration in vivo, and with increased secretion of interleukin-8 by epithelial cells. The inflammatory potential of Type II strains (non-cytotoxic, VacA- and CagA-negative) is probably less pronounced. The small urease subunit, porins, and other substances produced by H. pylori show neutrophil chemotactic activities in vitro. These bacterial components promote the adhesion of polymorphs to endothelial cells and stimulate polymorphs to generate oxygen reactive metabolites. This can severely damage the gastroduodenal mucosa.

Helicobacter Infections↗
PubMed1994

CagA/cytotoxic strains of Helicobacter pylori and interleukin-8 in gastric epithelial cell lines.

AIMS: To investigate: (1) whether Helicobacter pylori directly induces interleukin-8 (IL-8) message expression and protein secretion in established gastric epithelial cell lines; and (2) if CagA/cytotoxin positive and negative strains of H pylori differ in their ability to induce epithelial IL-8. METHODS: Gastric epithelial cell lines were co-cultured with H pylori NCTC 11637 and 10 clinical isolates (four cytotoxic, six non-cytotoxic) and secreted IL-8 was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Specific induction of gastric epithelial IL-8 mRNA was examined by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification. RESULTS: H pylori (NCTC 11637) induced IL-8 secretion from three gastric epithelial cell lines (KATO-3, ST42, AGS) but not from MKN 45 (gastric) or intestinal (SW480, HT29) cell lines. H mustelae did not stimulate IL-8 secretion from KATO-3, ST42, and AGS cells. H pylori induced IL-8 secretion was reduced by heat killing, sonication, freeze thawing or formalin fixation of the bacteria. CagA/cytotoxin positive strains of H pylori induced significantly higher IL-8 secretion than CagA/cytotoxin negative strains in the three positive gastric epithelial cell lines (KATO-3, ST42: p < 0.01; AGS: p < 0.02). A significant increase (p < 0.01) in the expression of IL-8 mRNA relative to G3PDH mRNA was observed in KATO-3 cells after three hours of co-culture with CagA/cytotoxin positive strains. CONCLUSIONS: H pylori directly increases gastric epithelial IL-8 mRNA expression and IL-8 protein secretion in a strain specific manner. Induction of epithelial IL-8 by CagA/cytotoxin positive strains is likely to result in neutrophil chemotaxis and activation and thus mucosal damage. These observations on epithelial IL-8 may explain the association between CagA/cytotoxin positive strains and gastroduodenal disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Activity of omeprazole on Helicobacter pylori and relation to toxicity of strains.

AIMS: To see whether the activity of omeprazole on Helicobacter pylori is associated with toxicity of strains; to determine whether omeprazole inhibited vacuolisation of cells in culture induced by H pylori cytotoxin and by ureas, and if omeprazole prevented H pylori motility. METHODS: Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of omeprazole were determined for seven cytotoxic and five non-cytotoxic H pylori strains. Omeprazole at different concentrations was incubated with cytotoxic and non-cytotoxic extracts of H pylori, or with purified H pylori urease, and added to cells in culture. Inhibition of motility by omeprazole was tested in semi-solid medium. RESULTS: MIC90 of omeprazole was 40 micrograms/ml. MICs for cytotoxic and noncytotoxic organisms were similar. Omeprazole did not prevent vacuolisation induced by the cytotoxic extract, but at high concentrations it inhibited the formation of vacuoles induced by urease. Motility was not inhibited by the drug. CONCLUSIONS: H pylori cytotoxin is not the target of the antimicrobial activity of omeprazole. Should the drug reach clinically effective concentrations in vivo, it could potentially prevent the mucosal damage caused by the vacuolising activity of urease.

Cytotoxins↗
PubMed1994

Evaluation of a commercial ELISA kit for the serological diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection.

H. pylori infection can be diagnosed serologically. We evaluated an ELISA kit (Helicobacter pylori IgG, DIESSE) prepared using a glycine extract of an autoctonous H. pylori strain which produced the highest biologically active urease titre out of five strains tested. The kit was tested with serum samples from H. pylori-infected and uninfected adults and children. The Western Blot technique was used as reference method for the H. pylori infective status. Based on the results obtained by immunoblotting with serum samples from H. pylori negative subjects, two different cut-off values were considered for adults and children. Sensitivity and specificity were respectively 95% and 100% for adults, 95.6% and 97.8% for children. In conclusion, the clinical accuracy of this commercially available ELISA kit proved to be very good; the adoption of two different cut-off values for adults and children also improved its parameters of reliability.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Molecular characterization of the 128-kDa immunodominant antigen of Helicobacter pylori associated with cytotoxicity and duodenal ulcer.

Helicobacter pylori has been associated with gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric adenocarcinoma. We report the nucleotide sequence and expression of an immunodominant antigen of H. pylori and the immune response to the antigen during disease. The antigen, named CagA (cytotoxin-associated gene A), is a hydrophilic, surface-exposed protein of 128 kDa produced by most clinical isolates. The size of the cagA gene and its protein varies in different strains by a mechanism that involves duplication of regions within the gene. Clinical isolates that do not produce the antigen do not have the gene and are unable to produce an active vacuolating cytotoxin. An ELISA to detect the immune response against a recombinant fragment of this protein detects 75.3% of patients with gastroduodenal diseases and 100% of patients with duodenal ulcer (P < 0.0005), suggesting that only bacteria harboring this protein are associated with disease.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Comparisons between degree of histological gastritis and DNA fingerprints, cytotoxicity and adhesivity of Helicobacter pylori from different gastric sites.

Thirty-six isolates of H. pylori from up to three gastric biopsy sites (antrum, corpus and fundus) from 13 patients in Italy with different degrees of histological gastritis were investigated. All strains were tested for motility, cytotoxicity and degree of adhesion, and were typed by analysis of ribosomal RNA gene patterns (ribopatterns). Seventeen different DNA types (ribotypes) were identified, with each patient possessing H. pylori of one or more unique types. Only two patients had identical H. pylori at three sites. Most patients had H. pylori with different ribotypes or subtypes, but nine strains were not typable. Five patients had the same strain colonizing two of the three sites and atypical strains were mostly from the antrum. A complex pattern of H. pylori colonization in the stomach of some individuals was evident and suggested multiple sources of infection. No consistent associations were detected between degree of gastritis and adherence, cytotoxicity and motility but a 2.56Kb rRNA gene fragment that had a higher frequency in strains associated with severe gastritis than mild gastritis, may provide a useful molecular marker for future pathogenicity studies.

Bacterial Adhesion↗
PubMed1993

Detection in an enzyme immunoassay of an immune response to a recombinant fragment of the 128 kilodalton protein (CagA) of Helicobacter pylori.

The possibility of using a recombinant fragment of the CagA (128 kDa protein) for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection was evaluated. Following cloning of the gene coding for the CagA, a recombinant fragment of it was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and used in Western blot and an EIA to screen sera from 82 patients with gastroduodenal disease who underwent endoscopic examination. In Western blot, good correlation was found between the serological data obtained with the recombinant antigen and those obtained using non-purified extracts of Helicobacter pylori. The EIA using the antigen showed a sensitivity of 96.2% and a specificity of 96.6% compared with Western blot. These data indicate that the recombinant protein is a reliable antigen for detection of infections with Helicobacter pylori strains that are associated with disease. The EIA assay described may be used in follow-up of the progression of the illness and the results of therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Bafilomycin A1 inhibits Helicobacter pylori-induced vacuolization of HeLa cells.

Bafilomycin A1, a specific inhibitor of the vacuolar-type H(+)-ATPase, responsible for acidification of intracellular compartments, prevents the vacuolization of Hela cells induced by H. pylori, with an inhibitory concentration giving 50% of maximal (ID50) of 4 nM. Bafilomycin A1 is also very efficient in restoring vacuolated cells to a normal appearance. The vacuolating activity of Helicobacter pylori is not inhibited by a series of specific inhibitors of vacuolar H(+)-ATPases. These findings indicate that a transmembrane pH gradient is needed for the formation and growth of vacuoles caused by the bacterium and that this pH gradient is due to the activity of a vacuolar ATPase proton pump of HeLa cells.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1993

Two cases of Campylobacter mucosalis enteritis in children.

Two cases of Campylobacter mucosalis enteritis in children are reported. The patients recovered without antimicrobial therapy. Strains were isolated only by the feces filtration technique. In one child, bactericidal antibodies to the homologous strain were detected in a convalescent-phase serum sample. C. mucosalis should be considered a primary intestinal pathogen.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1993

El fenómeno suicida en cepas de Aeromonas mesófilas aisladas de muestras clínicas [The suicide phenomenon in strains of mesophilic Aeromonas isolated from clinical specimens].

A study was carried out to determine the occurrence of the suicide phenomenon in Aeromonas spp strains, isolated from clinical samples, and to establish its relationship with the clinical manifestations of diarrheal diseases. 23 strains were studied: 10, of Aeromonas sobria; 7, of Aeromonas hydrophila; and 6, of Aeromonas caviae. All suicidal strains were isolated from patients with acute diarrheal disease. 3 out of 8, isolated from non-diarrheic feces, showed an intermediate phenotypic profile. Various growth patterns associated to the suicide phenomenon were reported.

Acute Disease↗