Background Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has been associated with gastritis, gastric ulcer, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma and gastric cancer. The prevalence of H. pylori virulence genes have been studied in different populations and from different sources of samples but their prevalence has not been studied in dental plaque in Jordanian people; therefore, the aim of thi...

The Helicobacter pylori vacuolating cytotoxin VacA shares homology in its C-terminal domain with many autotransporter proteins, suggesting a similar mechanism of secretion. Like most autotransporters, VacA contains a single pair of cysteine residues located near the C-terminus of the passenger domain. This study aimed to investigate the role of these conserved cysteine residues. This involved c...

BACKGROUND The cag pathogenicity island includes a number of genes, including cytotoxin-associated protein A (cagA) and vacuolating cytotoxin (vacA) genotypes, which are associated with bacterial virulence. Although the role of cagA and vacA in the virulence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is well-established in epidemiological studies, the relationship between the cagA and vacA genotypes in...

Helicobacter pylori infection induces various gastroduodenal diseases. We examined the role of two genes, vacA and cagE, in the gastric pathogenesis induced by H. pylori using a long-term (62 wk) animal model. Reportedly, both genes are associated with the virulence of H. pylori: vacA encodes vacuolating cytotoxin, and cagE, with other genes in the cag pathogenicity islands, encodes a type IV s...

The frequency of Helicobacter pylori infection in population can depend on the organism resistance, genetic condition, and bacterial strains virulence. A vacA gene, of mosaic structure, which encodes vacuolating cytotoxin is one of the known genes of H. pylori. The existence of several different genotypes of s and m regions enables the formation of numerous combinations of vacA gene genome. The...

objective(s):helicobacter pylori infection occurs worldwide, but the prevalence of this infection varies greatly among different countries and population groups. the aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of anti-helicobacter pylori and anti-cytotoxin-associated gene a (caga) antibodies in asymptomatic healthy population in the center of iran and to investigate the relation with ...

The Helicobacter pylori vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA) is an intracellular, mitochondrial-targeting exotoxin that rapidly causes mitochondrial dysfunction and fragmentation. Although VacA targeting of mitochondria has been reported to alter overall cellular metabolism, there little known about the consequences extended exposure toxin. Here, we describe studies address this gap in knowledge, which...

The major secreted virulence factor of Helicobacter pylori, the vacuolating cytotoxin VacA, is known to insert into eukaryotic membranes and has been observed in association with the surface of H. pylori cells that are actively producing it. Here, it is demonstrated that VacA is capable of interacting with the surface of H. pylori and Escherichia coli after secretion. It is shown that this inte...

Vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA) is one of the important virulence factors produced by H. pylori. VacA induces apoptotic cell death, which is potentiated by ammonia. VacA also causes cell death by mitochondrial damage, via signaling pathways that are not fully defined. Our aim was to determine whether endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is associated with VacA-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and ...

Gastric cancer is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Diet, obesity, smoking and chronic infections, especially with Helicobacter pylori, contribute to stomach cancer development. H. pylori possesses a variety of virulence factors including encoded factors from the cytotoxin-associated gene pathogenicity island (cagPAI) or vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA). Most of the cagPAI-encoded produc...