Sugar Codes Conjugated Alginate: An Innovative Platform to Make a Strategic Breakthrough in Simultaneous Prophylaxis of GERD and Helicobacter pylori Infection

Abstract

Introduction

Currently, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is one of the most ubiquitous problems in clinical practice. An antacid-alginate combination (under the trade name Gaviscon) is a natural-based product that effectively suppresses GERD. This product acts via the formation of viscous gel that floats on the top of the gastric content. On the other hand, efficient management of Helicobacter pylori infection with minimal side effects is an important goal for gastroenterologists. Furthermore, some H. pylori-positive patients suffer from GERD.

Methods

Here, we present the results of investigations on alginate conjugated to sugar codes in order to find initial clues regarding the potential ability of this conjugate in the simultaneous prophylaxis of GERD and H. pylori infection in an in vitro assay.

Results

It is noteworthy that our results reveal that sugar codes conjugated alginate considerably decrease (approximately 74%) the adhesion of H. pylori to gastric epithelial cells in vitro. Moreover, surprisingly after conjugation of sugar codes, alginate can maintain its ability to create gel. Our results demonstrate that alginate conjugated to sugar codes is not cytotoxic.

Conclusion

The preparation of these conjugates can be regarded as the first step to establish a new roadmap for the simultaneous prevention of GERD and H. pylori infection in future studies on in vivo models.

Keywords:

• GERD
• Helicobacter pylori infection
• sugar codes
• alginate
• conjugation

Acknowledgment

The authors wish to thank all laboratory staff of Department of Pharmaceutical Biomaterials in Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Furthermore, the authors would like to thank all laboratory staff of Food Borne and Waterborne Diseases Research Center in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. This study was financially supported by Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Grant No. 35740).

Disclosure

Professor Hidekazu Suzuki reports grants, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees from Astellas, grants, personal fees from Otsuka, personal fees from Mylan, personal fees from EA Pharma, personal fees from AstraZeneca, grants, personal fees from Daiichi Sankyo, grants from Tsumura, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.