Open AccessPhagocytosis and persistence of Helicobacter pylori
Author(s) -
Allen LeeAnn H.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
cellular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.542
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1462-5822
pISSN - 1462-5814
DOI - 10.1111/j.1462-5822.2007.00906.x
Subject(s) - biology , phagocytosis , helicobacter pylori , phagocyte , chemotaxis , virulence , microbiology and biotechnology , gastritis , innate immune system , immune system , immunology , gastric mucosa , respiratory burst , stomach , gene , biochemistry , genetics , receptor
Summary Helicobacter pylori is a spiral‐shaped, flagellated, microaerophilic Gram‐negative bacterium that colonizes the gastric epithelium of humans. All persons infected with H. pylori have gastritis, and some will develop severe disease such as peptic ulcers or gastric cancer. A characteristic feature of this infection is the pronounced accumulation of phagocytes, particularly neutrophils, in the gastric mucosa. H. pylori thrives in a phagocyte‐rich environment, and we describe here how this organism uses an array of novel virulence factors to manipulate chemotaxis, phagocytosis, membrane trafficking and the respiratory burst as a means to evade elimination by the innate immune response.