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Helicobacter pylori virulence dupA gene: risk factor or protective factor?

  • Clinical Microbiology - Research Paper
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Abstract

Helicobacter pylori is the etiological agent of chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer. The duodenal ulcer-promoting gene dupA, which is located in the plasticity region of the H. pylori genome, is homologous to the virB gene which encodes a type IV secretion protein in Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Studies have shown associations between H. pylori dupA-positive strains and gastroduodenal diseases. However, whether dupA acts as a risk factor or protective factor in these diseases remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to verify the presence of the dupA gene in infectious H. pylori strains in the Brazilian mid-west and to investigate its association with the clinical outcomes of patients with dyspepsia. Additionally, the phylogenetic origin of the strains was determined. Gastric biopsies from 117 patients with dyspepsia were analyzed using histological and molecular techniques. The hpx gene (16S rRNA) was used to screen for H. pylori infection, and positive samples were then subjected to dupA gene detection and sequencing. The estimated prevalence of H. pylori infection was 64.1%, with the dupA gene being detected in a high proportion of infectious strains (70.7%). Furthermore, a risk analysis revealed that for women, a dupA-positive H. pylori infection increased the chance of developing gastritis by twofold. The partial dupA sequences from isolated infectious strains in this work are similar to those of strains isolated in westerns countries. This study provides useful insights for understanding the role of the H. pylori dupA gene in disease development.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Patologia Tropical e Saúde Pública, Núcleo de Estudo da Helicobacter pylori, Departamento de Biociências e Tecnologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Leste Universitário, Goiânia, GO, Brazil

    Lucas Luiz de Lima Silva, Ana Karoline Silva Oliveira, Aline Rodrigues Gama, Amanda Ferreira Paes Landim Ramos, José Daniel Gonçalves Vieira, Lilian Carla Carneiro & Mônica Santiago Barbosa

  2. Departamento de Medicina, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Farmacêuticas e Biomédicas, Universidade Católica de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil

    Antonio Márcio Teodoro Cordeiro Silva

  3. Departamento de Áreas Acadêmicas, Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia, Campus Inhumas, Inhumas, GO, Brazil

    Angel José Vieira Blanco

  4. Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Marília, Marilia, SP, Brazil

    Lucas Trevizani Rasmussem

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  1. Lucas Luiz de Lima Silva
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  2. Ana Karoline Silva Oliveira
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Contributions

LLLS and AKSO performed data collection, data analysis, and interpretation and wrote the scientific work; ARG and JDGV helped in scientific writing and data collection; AMTCS, AJVB, and LTR data analysis; LLC and MSB conceived the study, participated in its design and coordination, and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mônica Santiago Barbosa.

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Ethical approval

The study was conducted according to the ethical standards of the Research Ethics Committee of the University Hospital of the Federal University of Goias (HC/UFG), under the opinion number 2.519.032, according to Resolution CNS/196/96.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Responsible Editor: Tânia A. Tardelli Gomes

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de Lima Silva, L.L., Oliveira, A.K.S., Gama, A.R. et al. Helicobacter pylori virulence dupA gene: risk factor or protective factor?. Braz J Microbiol 52, 1921–1927 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-021-00553-9

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