title: Pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori infection.
abstract: Helicobacter pylori induces chronic inflammation of the gastric mucosa, but only a proportion of infected individuals develop peptic ulcer disease or gastric carcinoma. Reasons underlying these observations include differences in bacterial pathogenicity as well as in host susceptibility. Numerous studies published in the last year provided new insight into H. pylori virulence factors, their interaction with the host and consequences in pathogenesis. These include the role of bacterial genetic diversity in host colonization and persistence, outer membrane proteins and modulation of adhesin expression, new aspects of VacA functions, and CagA and its phosphorylation-dependent and -independent cellular effects. This article will also review the recent novel findings on the interactions of H. pylori with diverse host epithelial signaling pathways and events involved in the initiation of carcinogenesis, including genetic instability and dysregulation of DNA repair.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Ceu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Figueiredo
authors.forename: Eliette
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Touati
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D015398:Signal Transduction; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors