Colonize, evade, flourish

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori is an adapted gastric pathogen that colonizes the human stomach, causing severe gastritis and gastric cancer. A hallmark of infection is the ability of this organism to evade detection by the human immune system. H. pylori has evolved a number of features to achieve this, many of which involve glyco-conjugates including the lipopolysaccharide, peptidoglycan layer, glycoproteins, and glucosylated cholesterol. These major bacterial components possess unique features from those of other gram-negative organisms, including differences in structure, assembly, and modification. These defining characteristics of H. pylori glycobiology help the pathogen establish a long-lived infection by providing camouflage, modulating the host immune response, and promoting virulence mechanisms. In this way, glyco-conjugates are essential for H. pylori pathogenicity and survival, allowing it to carve out a niche in the formidable environment of the human stomach.

Keywords: :

• lipopolysaccharide
• LPS transport
• H. pylori
• outer membrane
• lipid A
• Lewis antigens
• peptidoglycan
• immune evasion

Submitted

06/10/2013

Revised

07/05/2013

Accepted

07/11/2013

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflict of interest was disclosed.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Grant AI064184 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to MST.