title: The stress-induced hsp12 gene shows genetic variation among Helicobacter pylori strains.
abstract: The transcriptional regulation, genetic variation and clinical relevance of the strain-specific hsp12 gene of the human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori were investigated. Although the transcription of the hsp12 gene in H. pylori strain 1061 was induced by growth under iron-, pH- and temperature-stress conditions, the gene was not essential for growth under these stress conditions. The locus containing the hsp12 gene showed considerable genetic variation. A total of eight different strain-specific alleles were identified, of which three are mosaic variants of the hsp12 gene and five that are unrelated to the hsp12 gene. The hsp12 locus of six paired sets of strains obtained from patients with 7-10-year time intervals remained unaltered, indicating that genetic variation does not occur during chronic infection. No significant association was found between the presence of a hsp12 gene and peptic ulcer disease in clinical isolates obtained from 26 patients. The stress-regulated, strain-specific hsp12 genes may be involved in adaptation of individual H. pylori strains to their specific hosts, and contribute to long-term colonization of the gastric niche.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nicolette
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.forename: Esther M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: van Ark
authors.forename: Jeroen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stoof
authors.forename: Ernst J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kuipers
authors.forename: Arnoud H M
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: van Vliet
authors.forename: Johannes G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Kusters
mesh_terms: D004381:Duodenal Ulcer / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
chemical_list: C112591:HSP12 protein, S cerevisiae; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins