title: Association of cagA and vacA genotypes of Helicobacter pylori with gastric diseases in Estonia.
abstract: Gastric biopsy specimens from 156 adult patients from southern Estonia suffering from chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and perforated peptic ulcer were analyzed by PCR. The cagA gene was evenly distributed throughout 87% of the specimens from the patients with the different gastric diseases. The presence of the cagA gene correlated with that of vacA signal sequence type s1a (99%). However, no clear differences were found in the distribution of cagA and vacA genotypes among patients in Estonia with severe perforated peptic ulcer, uncomplicated peptic ulcer, or chronic gastritis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Tartu, Tartu 50411, Estonia.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Andreson
authors.forename: Krista
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lõivukene
authors.forename: Toomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sillakivi
authors.forename: Heidi-Ingrid
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Maaroos
authors.forename: Mart
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ustav
authors.forename: Ants
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peetsalu
authors.forename: Marika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mikelsaar
mesh_terms: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004957:Estonia; D005838:Genotype; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013272:Stomach Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C074689:VacA protein, Helicobacter pylori; C080866:cagA protein, Helicobacter pylori