Comparative proteomics and immunoproteomics of Helicobacter pylori related to different gastric pathologies.

Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative bacterium which causes ulcer, atrophic gastritis, adenocarcinoma, or mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. A comparative proteomic and immunoproteomic analysis was chosen to identify the antigenic patterns of three different H. pylori strains. These strains were probed against single sera from H. pylori-positive patients affected by gastric adenocarcinoma or duodenal ulcer. We found a quite heterogeneous antigenic pattern, both from strain and sera points of view, thus underlying both a strain- and a host-specificity. The different antigenic repertoires introduced the importance of the strain to be used for immunoblotting as a diagnostic test.