Helicobacter pylori in the post-antibiotics era: from virulence factors to new drug targets and therapeutic agents

Helicobacter pylori is considered one of the most prevalent human pathogenic microbes globally. It is the main cause of a number of gastrointestinal ailments, including peptic and duodenal ulcers, and gastric tumors with high mortality rates. Thus, eradication of H. pylori is necessary to prevent gastric cancer. Still, the rise in antibiotic resistance is the most important challenge for eradication strategies. Better consideration of H. pylori virulence factors, pathogenesis, and resistance is required for better eradication rates and, thus, prevention of gastrointestinal malignancy. This article is aimed to show the role of virulence factors of H. pylori. Some are involved in its survival in the harsh environment of the human gastric lumen, and others are related to pathogenesis and the infection process. Furthermore, this work has highlighted the recent advancement in H. pylori treatment, as well as antibiotic resistance as a main challenge in H. pylori eradication. Also, we tried to provide an updated summary of the evolving H. pylori control strategies and the potential alternative drugs to fight this lethal resistant pathogen. Recent studies have focused on evaluating the efficacy of alternative regimens (such as sequential, hybrid, concomitant treatment, vonoprazan (VPZ)-based triple therapy, high-dose PPI-amoxicillin dual therapy, probiotics augmented triple therapy, or in combination with BQT) in the effective eradication of H. pylori. Thus, innovating new anti-H. pylori drugs and establishing H. pylori databanks are upcoming necessities in the near future.