Detecting a Bacterial Protein to Understand Cancer Risk

Featured Article: Blaser MJ, Perez-Perez GI, Kleanthous H, Cover TL, Peek RM, Chyou PH, et al. Infection with Helicobacter pylori strains possessing cagA is associated with an increased risk of developing adenocarcinoma of the stomach. Cancer Res 1995;55:2111–5.4In 1982, Helicobacter pylori was discovered in the human stomach in association with inflammatory cells infiltrating the gastric mucosa, a condition known as chronic gastritis. Barry Marshall and Robin Warren received the 2005 Nobel Prize in medicine for the discovery of H. pylori and determining its role in peptic ulcer disease. Within several years, it became clear that persons carrying H. pylori were also at increased risk for the most prevalent types of gastric cancer 1. Yet, H. pylori colonization is highly prevalent, and only a fraction of colonized individuals become ill. Work in my laboratory since 1985 has sought to define the antigens of H. pylori, to identify virulence factors, and to develop diagnostic tests to ascertain carriage and genotype. Studies initiated in 1988 by postdoctoral fellow Dr. Timothy Cover focused on an activity in culture supernatants from some but not all H. pylori strains …