Helicobacter pylori does not require Lewis X or Lewis Y expression to colonize C3H/HeJ mice.
Helicobacter pylori strains frequently express Lewis X (Le(x)) and/or Le(y) on their cell surfaces as constituents of the O antigens of their lipopolysaccharide molecules. To assess the effect of Le(x) and Le(y) expression on the ability of H. pylori to colonize the mouse stomach and to adhere to epithelial cells, isogenic mutants were created in which fucT1 alone or fucT1 and fucT2, which encode the fucosyl transferases necessary for Le(x) and Le(y) expression, were deleted. C3H/HeJ mice were experimentally challenged with either wild-type 26695 H. pylori or its isogenic mutants. All strains, whether passaged in the laboratory or recovered after mouse passage, colonized the mice well and without consistent differences. During colonization by the mutants, there was no reversion to wild type. Similarly, adherence to AGS and KatoIII cells was unaffected by the mutations. Together, these findings indicate that Le expression is not necessary for mouse gastric colonization or for H. pylori adherence to epithelial cells.
Takata
Tohru
T
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
El-Omar
Emad
E
Camorlinga
Margarita
M
Thompson
Stuart A
SA
Minohara
Yutaka
Y
Ernst
Peter B
PB
Blaser
Martin J
MJ
D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000276:immunology; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005647:Fucosyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000166:cytology; D007983:Lewis Blood Group Antigens / Q000502:physiology*; D016256:Lewis X Antigen / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D016296:Mutagenesis; D013270:Stomach / Q000382:microbiology*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007983:Lewis Blood Group Antigens; D016256:Lewis X Antigen; C094162:Lewis Y antigen; D005647:Fucosyltransferases; C031692:galactoside 3-fucosyltransferase