title: Limited role of lipopolysaccharide Lewis antigens in adherence of Helicobacter pylori to the human gastric epithelium.
abstract: In vitro and in vivo studies from various groups have suggested that Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide (LPS) Lewis x (Le(x)) antigens mediate bacterial adhesion. We have now reevaluated this hypothesis by studying the adherence in situ of H. pylori strain 11637 and its corresponding Le(x)-negative rfbM mutant to human gastric mucosa from patients (n = 22) with various gastric pathologies. Significant binding of the parent strain was observed in only 8 out of 22 sections; in four out of eight patients, the Le(x)-negative mutant bound less well. One of these four patients displayed no gastric abnormalities, and the other three showed dysplasia, metaplasia, and adenocarcinoma, respectively; hence, we are unable to define the circumstances under which LPS-mediated adhesion takes place. We conclude that H. pylori LPS plays a distinct but minor role in adhesion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Odontology/Oral Microbiology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jafar
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mahdavi
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Borén
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vandenbroucke-Grauls
authors.forename: Ben J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Appelmelk
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology*; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000209:etiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D016256:Lewis X Antigen / Q000502:physiology*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016256:Lewis X Antigen; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides