ICL 2.21: Helicobacter, Campylobacter & Vibrio Flashcards
what is the causitive agent of gastric ulcers?
helicobacter pylori
what did people used to think caused gastric ulcers?
Excess acid, smoking, stress, spicy foods
these are now recognized as AGGRAVATING, not causal, factors
what is the microbiology of helicobacter pylori?
gram (-) helical rods
microaerophilic = tiny little bit of oxygen
are helicobacter pylori motile??
yes
tufts of several polar flagella (4-7)
highly motile!!
corkscrew motility like spirochetes but different mechanism
how is helicobacter pylori transmitted?
fecal-oral and oral-oral
is carriage with helicobacter pylori common?
incidence of carraige in developing countries is high
it’s lower in developed countries
how does H. pylori enter into the acidic stomach?
the stomach lumen is really acidic so it’s a pretty hostile environment so H. pylori overcomes this by:
- production of urease which converts urea to NH3 + CO2
NH3 raises the pH in the immediate vicinity of the bacteria and acts a buffer
- flagella
H. pylori is highly motile, can quickly reach the mucin layer
the mucin layer is mostly negatively-charged sulfated polysaccharides, acts as buffer to protect gastric epithelial cells – it has a neutral pH 7
what mechanisms does H. pylor use to reach the gastric epithelium from the lumen of the stomach?
so the problem is that the mucus in the mucin layer of the stomach is really thick and viscous and hard to get through so to overcome this H. pylori:
- has flagella which confer corkscrew motility on the helical cells
- express mucinase and phospholipases to liquify the mucus
how does H. pylori colonize the gastric epithelium?
so the problem is that stomach contents flow through the GI system so H. pylori colonizes the gastric epithelium by:
- expression of adhesins like:
BabA which binds Lewis b Ag
SabA which binds sialyl Lewis X
HpaA which binds neuraminyl-lactose
how does H. pylori evade the immune system?
- catalase, arginase and superoxide dismutase detoxify ROS produced by immune cells
- H. pylori LPS not very toxic or immuno-genic, looks like “self” (carbohydrates identical to Lewis antigens x and y)
- H. pylori flagellin is poorly recognized by TLR5
- VacA protein inhibits T cell proliferation, interferes with B-cell Ag presentation.
how does H. pylori cause damage?
- ammonia produced by urease damages host cells
- cytotoxin VacA causes influx of cations in vacuoles – gastric cells swell and die; also loosens junctions between epithelial cells
- colonization itself may elicit inflammatory response, with infiltration of submucosal tissues by immune cells
- NAP (neutrophil activation protein) activates immune cells to produce ROI
- CagA phosphorylates host proteins, promoting activation of NF-kB and production of IL-8 (crucial determinants of chronic inflammation)
what serious illness is H. pylori linked to?
gastric cancer
H. pylori has mutagenic properties that trigger DNA ds-breaks and DNA damage which leads to cancer!
CagA (+) strains are particularly associated with cancer risk
how does H. pylori cause gastric cancer?
- colonization of stomach by H. pylori
- after a few weeks/months the bacteria causes chronic superficial gastritis
- then you can get either:
- chronic atrophic gastritis –> gastric adenocarcinoma –> proliferation in the prescence of ROS and RNS results in DNA damage and mutation
- lympoproliferative disease –> B cell MALT lymphoma
- peptic ulcer disease
how do you diagnose H. pylori?
- silver stain of gastric epithelial cells = small curved rods associated with the surface of gastric epithelial cells
- urease test/staining/culture of biopsy = invasive
- serologic test, urea breath test = non-invasive
- culture/PCR
how do you culture H. pylori?
3 days for isolated colonies to appear, under reduced O2 / increased CO2 @ 37oC on BAP (blood agar plate)
how do you treat H. pylori?
NIH recommends that all patients with gastric or duodenal ulcers caused by H. pylori be treated with antimicrobials
but with the antibiotics you need to include a proton-pump inhibitor!!!
this is because PPIs don’t work well at low pH aka the stomach
but if someone has an asymptomatic H. pylori infection you actually shouldn’t treat them because it appears to offer protection from gastroesophageal reflux disease and adenocarcinomas of the lower esophagus and gastric cardia
what are the key virulence factors of H. pylori?
- flagella
motility, immune evasion because not seen by TLR5
- urease
resistance to acidic environment of the stomach
- LPS
low toxicity and immunogenicity
- adhesins
allow retention on gastric mucosa
what’s the microbiology of campylobacter?
gram (-) spiral shaped rods
urease negative
what disease state does campylobacter jejuni cause?
1 (or #2) cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in US
it’s either this or salmonella depending on who you ask
what are the symptoms of a campylobacter jejuni infection?
- fever
- abdominal pain that can mimic appendicitis
- diarrhea (often bloody)
symptoms are self-limiting; only last a week