GI highlights from the literature

Basic scienceHelicobacter pylori infection evades gastric acidity

Bugaytsova JA, Björnham O, Chernov YA, et al. Helicobacter pylori adapts to chronic infection and gastric disease via pH-responsive BabA-mediated adherence. Cell Host Microbe 2017;21:376–389.

Helicobacter pylori (HP) infects billions of people worldwide and is linked to both peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. HP colonises the gastric epithelium and its overlying mucus and is partially protected against luminal acidity by epithelial secretions, intrinsic urease production and chemotaxis. In addition, tight adherence to mucosal glycan receptors assists in protection from luminal acidity. Bacterial attachment to these receptors is mediated by adhesins (attachment proteins) including BabA, which binds with high affinity to ABO/Leb blood group antigens to persist in the stomach mucosa. A multiauthor study by Bugaytsova and colleagues has shown that BabA-mediated HP adherence is acid sensitive, fully reversed when acidity is decreased. This is controlled by BabA adhesin protein's...

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