Virulence factors of Spanish Helicobacter pylori isolates and correlation with gastritis or ulcer production

Abstract

Objective To study the cagA, vacA and iceA status of Helicobacter pylori clinical isolates obtained from adult patients suffering from peptic ulcer or gastritis in order to find if these virulence factors are useful in determining a strain to be a gastritis or ulcer producer. Methods One hundred and five H. pylori strains from patients with gastritis and ulcer were studied. Culture and identification was done by standard methodology. cagA, vacA and iceA detection was performed by PCRs previously described. Results were visualized by agarose gel electrophoresis. Results Amplified fragments of 297 bp ( cagA ), 259 bp ( vacA s1), 286 bp ( vacA s2) and 975 bp ( iceA ) were detected. cagA was detected in 83.3% and 91.3% of gastritis and ulcer strains respectively ( p >0.05). s1 was detected in 57.1% of gastritis strains and 62.3% of ulcer strains ( p >0.05). cagA was strongly related with the s1 allele. iceA was more prevalent in strains from gastritis (82.4% versus 66.7%). The combination of cagA, vacA and iceA was not correlated with the production of peptic ulcer disease. Conclusions These data suggest that the combination of cagA, vacA and iceA cannot be used to predict severe gastric disease in Spanish H. pylori clinical isolates.