HELICOBACTER PYLORI ANTIGEN

Helicobacter pylori antigen is a bacterial extract which has been partially purified by detergent extraction and centrifugation. It has been manufactured for use in immunoassay development and other research applications.

PRODUCT DETAILS – HELICOBACTER PYLORI ANTIGEN

• Helicobacter pylori antigen
• Strain NCTC 11637
• Bacteria cultured on solid medium, harvested, washed and solubilised
• Antigen is partially purified by detergent extraction and centrifugation
• For immunoassay development or other applications

BACKGROUND

Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative microaerophilic bacterium that specifically colonizes the human stomach and exhibits high genetic diversity. It is a helix-shaped (curved rod) Gram-negative bacterium (~3μm in length, ~0.5μm diameter) with four to six flagella at the same location. The flagella are used to burrow into the mucus lining of the stomach to reach the lower acidity environment of the epithelial cells underneath. H. pylori also produces large amounts of urease as one of its adaptation methods to overcome stomach acidity, neutralizing gastric acidity by producing ammonium from urea. H. pylori shows large strain diversity, and hundreds of genomes have been completely sequenced, typically in the region of 1.7Mbp, containing ~1,576 genes. Several strains have a ~40kbp Cag pathogenicity island (a common gene sequence associated with pathogenesis) that contains over 40 genes which is usually absent from individuals who are carriers of H. pylori, but remain asymptomatic. It is believed that this island was acquired by horizontal transfer from another bacterial species (Brown, 2000). Long-term H. pylori infection causes diseases including chronic active gastritis, peptic ulcers, B cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, and adenocarcinoma (Gravina et al., 2018). H. pylori is a major source of worldwide cancer mortality by several mechanisms including enhanced production of free radicals near H. pylori, an increased rate of host cell mutation and enhancement of the transformed host cell phenotype by means of alterations in cell proteins, such as adhesion proteins (Gobert & Wilson, 2017).

REFERENCES

• Brown LM (2000). Helicobacter pylori: epidemiology and routes of transmission. Epidemiol Rev. 22 (2): 283–97.
• Gobert AP, Wilson KT. Human and Helicobacter pylori Interactions Determine the Outcome of Gastric Diseases. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2017;400:27‐52.
• Gravina AG, Zagari RM, De Musis C, Romano L, Loguercio C, Romano M. Helicobacter pylori and extragastric diseases: A review. World J Gastroenterol. 2018;24(29):3204‐3221.