BackgroundThe vacA, cagA and babA2 genotypes of Helicobacter pylori are associated with gastric pathology. The objectives were to determine the frequency of infection and distribution of the vacA, cagA and babA2 genotypes of H. pylori in patients with gastric ulcer, chronic gastritis and gastric cancer, and to evaluate the association of virulent genotypes with diagnosis.MethodsWe studied 921 patients with symptoms of dyspepsia or with presumptive diagnosis of gastric cancer. The DNA of H. pylori and the vacA, cagA and babA2 genes was detected by PCR in total DNA from gastric biopsies. The association of H. pylori and of its cagA, vacA and babA2 genotypes with diagnosis was determined by calculating the odds ratio (OR).ResultsChronic gastritis was confirmed in 767 patients, gastric ulcer in 115 and cancer in 39. The prevalence of H. pylori was 47.8, 49.6 and 61.5% in those groups, respectively. H. pylori was more frequent in the surrounding tissue (69.2%) than in the tumor (53.8%). The vacA s1m1 genotype predominated in the three groups (45.2, 61.4 and 83.3%, respectively). H. pylori was associated with cancer (ORadjusted = 2.08; 95% CI 1.05–4.13; p = 0.035) but not with ulcer (ORadjusted = 1.07; 95% CI 0.71–1.61; p = 0.728). The s1m1 genotype was associated with ulcer and cancer (ORadjusted = 2.02; 95% CI 1.12–3.62; p = 0.019 and ORadjusted = 6.58; 95% CI 2.15–20.08; p = 0.001, respectively). babA2 was associated with gastric cancer, and cagA was not associated with the diagnosis.ConclusionsIn population from Southern Mexico, H. pylori and the s1m1 genotype were associated with gastric cancer and the s1m1/cagA+/babA2+ strains predominated in tumor and adjacent tissue.

PurposeVirulent genotypes of Helicobacter pylori vacA s1m1/cagA+/babA2+ have been associated with severe gastric diseases. VacA, CagA and BabA are polymorphic proteins, and their association with the disease is allele-dependent. The aims of this work were: (i) to determine the prevalence of H. pylori by type of chronic gastritis; (ii) to describe the frequency of cagA, babA2 and vacA genotypes in strains from patients with different types of chronic gastritis; (iii) to characterize the variable region of cagA alleles.MethodologyA total of 164 patients with chronic gastritis were studied. Altogether, 50 H. pylori strains were isolated, and the status of cagA, babA2 and vacA genotypes was examined by PCR. cagA EPIYA segment identification was performed using PCR and sequencing of cagA fragments of six randomly selected strains.Results/Key findingsThe overall prevalence of H. pylori was 30.5 %. Eighty percent of the isolated strains were vacA s1m1, and the cagA and babA2 genes were detected in 74 and 32 % of the strains, respectively. The most frequent genotypes were vacA s1m1/cagA+/babA2- and vacA s1m1/cagA+/babA2+, with 40 % (20/50) and 28 % (14/50), respectively. In cagA+, the most frequent EPIYA motif was -ABC (78.4 %), and EPIYA-ABCC and -ABCCC motifs were found in 10.8 % of the strains. A modified EPIYT-B motif was found in 66.6 % of the sequenced strains.ConclusionH. pylori strains carrying vacA s1m1, cagA+ and babA2- genotypes were the most prevalent in patients with chronic gastritis from the south of Mexico. In the cagA+ strains, the EPIYA-ABC motif was the most common.

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the main risk factor for the development of chronic gastritis, gastric ulcer, and gastric cancer. In H. pylori-infected individuals, the clinical result is dependent on various factors, among which are bacterial components, the immune response, and environmental influence. Aims: To compare IFN-␥ expression with the H. pylori vacA and cagA genotypes in patients with chronic gastritis and patients with gastric cancer. Methods: Ninety-five patients diagnosed with chronic gastritis and 20 with gastric cancer were included in the study. Three gastric biopsies were taken; one was used for the molecular detection and genotyping of H. pylori; another was fixed in absolute alcohol and histologic sections were made for determining IFN-␥ expression through immunohistochemistry.ଝ Please cite this article as: Martínez-Carrillo DN, Atrisco-Morales J, Hernández-Pando R, Reyes-Navarrete S, Betancourt-Linares R, Cruzdel Carmen I, et al. Diversidad de los genotipos vacA y cagA de Helicobacter pylori y expresión de interferón gamma en pacientes con gastritis crónica y cáncer gástrico. Revista de Gastroenterología de México. 2014;79:220---228.Diversidad de los genotipos vacA y cagA de Helicobacter pylori y expresión de interferón gamma en pacientes con gastritis crónica y cáncer gástrico ResumenAntecedentes: El H. pylori es el principal factor de riesgo para el desarrollo de gastritis crónica, úlcera gástrica y cáncer gástrico. El resultado clínico en infectados por esta bacteria depende de varios factores, entre ellos los componentes bacterianos, la respuesta inmune, y la influencia del medio ambiente. Objetivo: Comparar la expresión de IFN-␥ con los genotipos vacA y cagA de H. pylori en pacientes con gastritis crónica y cáncer gástrico. Pacientes y métodos: Se incluyeron 95 pacientes con diagnóstico de gastritis crónica y 20 con cáncer gástrico. Se tomaron 3 biopsias gástricas, una se utilizó para la identificación molecular y genotipificación de H. pylori. Otra fue fijada en alcohol absoluto y realizaron cortes histológicos para determinar la expresión de IFN-␥ por inmunohistoquímica. Resultados: No se encontraron diferencias en las células que expresaron IFN-␥ entre pacientes con gastritis crónica (mediana del porcentaje de células positivas: 82.6% en pacientes sin H. pylori y 82% en personas infectadas) y cáncer gástrico (70.5% en pacientes H. pylorinegativos y 78.5% en infectados). En pacientes con gastritis crónica infectados por H. pylori vacAs2m2/cagA − la expresión de IFN-␥ fue del 69%, en pacientes con H. pylori vacAs1m2/cagA − fue de 86.5%, en vacAs1m1/cagA − del 86.5%, y en vacAs1m1/cagA + del 82%. En cáncer se encontraron datos similares. Conclusión: La expresión de INF-␥ varía dependiendo del genotipo vacA y cagA de H. pylori, pero no de acuerdo a la presencia de gastritis crónica o cáncer gástrico.

IFN-γ expression varied depending on the H. pylori vacA and cagA genotype, but not in accordance with the presence of chronic gastritis or gastric cancer.

Helicobacter pylori promotes the secretion of cytokines that regulate inflammation and carcinogenesis. Immune cells secrete cytokines into the extracellular medium or packaged in exosomes. The objective of this study was to analyze the profile of soluble and exosomal cytokines that were secreted by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) that were infected with H. pylori and to build a network of interaction between cytokines and cellular proteins. PBMCs were obtained by density gradient centrifugation and infected with H. pylori for 24 h. The infection was verified by immunofluorescence and Western blot for CagA. The exosomes were obtained from culture supernatant by ultracentrifugation and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, particle size analysis, and Western blot for CD9 and CD81. Cytokines were quantified using a multiplex immunoassay in the culture supernatant, intact exosomes, and lysed exosomes. H. pylori adheres to lymphocytes and translocates CagA. In PBMCs, H. pylori induces an increase in the soluble and exosomal IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-17A, IL-21, and IL-22. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network shows that soluble and exosomal cytokines interact with proteins that participate in signaling pathways such as NF-κB, MAPK, PI3K-Akt, Jak-STAT, FoxO, and mTOR, that are related to carcinogenesis; moreover, TNF-α had the highest number of interactions. Cytokine-loaded exosomes represent another means of intercellular communication that is activated by H. pylori to stimulate inflammation, carcinogenesis, or cancer progression. Cytokine-loaded exosomes are likely to be associated with extragastrointestinal diseases of inflammatory origin.