Abstract
Helicobacter pylori adheres only to gastric cells in vivo. However, the organism adheres to a wide variety of nongastric cells in vitro. In this study, we have used flow cytometry to assess the adherence of H. pylori to primary epithelial cells isolated from gastric, duodenal, and colonic biopsy specimens by collagenase digestion. After incubation of bacteria and cells together and subsequent staining with a two-stage fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled H. pylori antibody method, cells with adherent bacteria could be easily distinguished from cells without bacteria. Binding to Kato III cells (a gastric adenocarcinoma cell line) was saturable when bacteria and cells were mixed at a ratio of 250:1. Adherence to cells isolated from gastric biopsy specimens was significantly better than adherence to cells isolated from duodenal or colonic biopsy specimens. Almost 70% of gastric cells had bacteria bound, in contrast to 30% of duodenal cells and 32% of colonic cells (P < 0.0001). There was no correlation between expression of hemagglutinins by the bacteria and ability to bind to either Kato III cells or primary epithelial cells isolated from gastric biopsy specimens. In view of the strict tropism that the organism exhibits in vivo for gastric cells, the results of this study indicate that primary cells are ideal for assessing the factors that might play a role in the pathogenesis of disease caused by the organism.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.