Strategy to characterize the number and type of repeating EPIYA phosphorylation motifs in the carboxyl terminus of CagA protein in Helicobacter pylori clinical isolates.

ABSTRACT: Cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) diversity with regard to EPIYA-A, -B, -C, or -D phosphorylation motifs may play an important role in Helicobacter pylori pathogenesis, and therefore determination of these motifs in H. pylori clinical isolates can become a useful prognostic tool. We propose a strategy for the accurate determination of CagA EPIYA motifs in clinical strains, based upon one-step PCR amplification using primers that flank the EPIYA coding region. We thus analyzed 135 H. pylori isolates derived from 75 adults and 60 children Greek patients. A total of 34 cases were found to be EPIYA PCR negative and were consequently verified as cagA negative by cagA-specific PCR, empty-site cagA PCR, and Western blotting. Sequencing of the remaining 101 PCR-positive amplicons confirmed that a

SUBMITTER: Panayotopoulou EG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1829008 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature