Cell specificity of Helicobacter pylori cytotoxin is determined by a short region in the polymorphic midregion

Infect Immun. 2000 Jun;68(6):3754-7. doi: 10.1128/IAI.68.6.3754-3757.2000.

Abstract

There are two alleles of the vacuolating cytotoxin gene from Helicobacter pylori, which code for toxins with different cell specificities. By analyzing the phenotypes of natural and artificial chimeras between the two forms of the protein, we have delimited a short stretch of amino acids which determine the cell specificity.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / toxicity*
  • Bacterial Toxins / genetics
  • Bacterial Toxins / toxicity*
  • Cytotoxins / genetics
  • Cytotoxins / toxicity*
  • Epithelial Cells
  • HeLa Cells
  • Helicobacter pylori / genetics
  • Helicobacter pylori / pathogenicity*
  • Humans
  • Kidney / cytology
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Polymorphism, Genetic*
  • Rabbits
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Vacuoles

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Bacterial Toxins
  • Cytotoxins
  • VacA protein, Helicobacter pylori