title: High frequency of gastric colonization with multiple Helicobacter pylori strains in Venezuelan subjects.
abstract: Multiple Helicobacter pylori strains may colonize an individual host. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and line probe assay (LiPA) techniques, we analyzed the prevalence of mixed H. pylori colonization in 127 subjects from Venezuela, a country of high H. pylori prevalence, from three regions representing different population groups: the Andes (Merida), where Caucasian mestizos predominate, a major city near the coast (Caracas), where Amerindian-Caucasian-African mestizos predominate, and an Amazonian community (Puerto Ayacucho), where Amerindians predominate and mestizos reflect Amerindian and Caucasian ancestry. Among 121 H. pylori-positive persons, the prevalence of cagA-positive strains varied from 50% (Merida) to 86% (Puerto Ayacucho) by LiPA. Rates of mixed colonization also varied, as assessed by LiPA of the vacA s (mean, 49%) and m (mean, 26%) regions. In total, 55% of the individuals had genotypic evidence of mixed colonization. vacA s1c, a marker of Amerindian (East Asian) origin, was present in all three populations, especially from Puerto Ayacucho (86%). These results demonstrate the high prevalence of mixed colonization and indicate that the H. pylori East Asian vacA genotype has survived in all three populations tested.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ghose
authors.forename: G I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Perez-Perez
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: van Doorn
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Domínguez-Bello
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Blaser
mesh_terms: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D044466:Asian People; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D044383:Black People; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology*; D005756:Gastritis / Q000382:microbiology; D005838:Genotype; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000382:microbiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American; D015995:Prevalence; D014687:Venezuela / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C074689:VacA protein, Helicobacter pylori; C080866:cagA protein, Helicobacter pylori