title: Significance of Helicobacter pylori vacA intermediate region genotyping-a Bulgarian study.
abstract: The significance of the intermediate (i) region of the Helicobacter pylori vacA gene as a virulence factor associated with the severity of gastric disease is still disputable. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and significance of vacA i alleles alone or in combination with other vacA alleles in symptomatic Bulgarian patients and to find out possible associations between vacA i genotype and patients' disease, age, sex, and other H. pylori virulence factors. Unlike vacA s1 and m1, vacA i1 prevalence was significantly higher (75.0%) in strains from peptic ulcer patients than in strains from nonulcer patients with gastric diseases (58.6%) (P = 0.022). Less virulent vacA s1 i2 m2 strains were more prevalent in females (P = 0.03), and cagA(+) was associated with vacA i1, s1, m1, and their combinations. In conclusion, vacA i status is a better predictor for the strain virulence than other vacA alleles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Sofia, 1431 Sofia, Bulgaria. dr.daniel.yordanov.md@gmail.com
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yordanov
authors.forename: Lyudmila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Boyanova
authors.forename: Rumyana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Markovska
authors.forename: Galina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gergova
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mitov
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002031:Bulgaria / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010437:Peptic Ulcer / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D015995:Prevalence; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C074689:VacA protein, Helicobacter pylori; D037521:Virulence Factors