vacA s1m1 genotype and cagA EPIYA-ABC pattern are predominant among Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from Mexican patients with chronic gastritis

PURPOSE: Virulent genotypes of Helicobacter pylori vacA s1m1/cagA(+)/babA2(+) have been associated with severe gastric diseases. VacA, CagA and BabA are polymorphic proteins, and their association with the disease is allele-dependent. The aims of this work were: (i) to determine the prevalence of H. pylori by type of chronic gastritis; (ii) to describe the frequency of cagA, babA2 and vacA genotypes in strains from patients with different types of chronic gastritis; (iii) to characterize the variable region of cagA alleles. METHODOLOGY: A total of 164 patients with chronic gastritis were studied. Altogether, 50 H. pylori strains were isolated, and the status of cagA, babA2 and vacA genotypes was examined by PCR. cagA EPIYA segment identification was performed using PCR and sequencing of cagA fragments of six randomly selected strains. RESULTS/KEY FINDINGS: The overall prevalence of H. pylori was 30.5 %. Eighty percent of the isolated strains were vacA s1m1, and the cagA and babA2 genes were detected in 74 and 32 % of the strains, respectively. The most frequent genotypes were vacA s1m1/cagA(+)/babA2(-) and vacA s1m1/cagA(+)/babA2(+), with 40 % (20/50) and 28 % (14/50), respectively. In cagA(+), the most frequent EPIYA motif was -ABC (78.4 %), and EPIYA-ABCC and -ABCCC motifs were found in 10.8 % of the strains. A modified EPIYT-B motif was found in 66.6 % of the sequenced strains. CONCLUSION: H. pylori strains carrying vacA s1m1, cagA(+) and babA2(-) genotypes were the most prevalent in patients with chronic gastritis from the south of Mexico. In the cagA(+) strains, the EPIYA-ABC motif was the most common.