Brief Article
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World J Gastroenterol. Oct 21, 2013; 19(39): 6585-6589
Published online Oct 21, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i39.6585
Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori virulence genotypes among children in Eastern Turkey
Gokben Ozbey, Yasar Dogan, Kaan Demiroren
Gokben Ozbey, Vocational School of Health Services, Firat University, 23119, Elazig, Turkey
Yasar Dogan, Kaan Demiroren, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Firat University, 23119, Elazig, Turkey
Author contributions: Ozbey G performed the majority of experiments including DNA extraction and PCR, designed the study and wrote the manuscript; Dogan Y and Demiroren K collected antrum samples from patients during endoscopy, analyzed the clinical and statistical data and edited the manuscript; all authors read and approved the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Gokben Ozbey, DVM, PhD, Vocational School of Health Services, Firat University, 23119, Elazig, Turkey. gokben.ozbey@yahoo.com
Telephone: +90-424-2370079 Fax: +90-424-2415544
Received: June 26, 2013
Revised: August 14, 2013
Accepted: August 20, 2013
Published online: October 21, 2013
Processing time: 134 Days and 17.1 Hours
Abstract

AIM: To identify the virulence genotypes of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) if present in children in Eastern Turkey and if those genotypes are mostly associated with severe clinical presentations.

METHODS: A total of 49 H. pylori positive Turkish children (42 with antral nodularity and 7 with peptic ulcer) who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with abdominal symptoms during the period from March 2011 to September 2012 were enrolled in this study. Antral nodularity was diagnosed endoscopically by two of the authors. We determined for the presence of cagA, vacA, cagE, iceA and babA2 genotypes of H. pylori isolates in DNA obtained directly from frozen gastric biopsy samples by polymerase chain reaction test using specific primers.

RESULTS: Of the 49 H. pylori isolates studied, 61.2%, 91.8%, 22.4%, 28.6%, 57.1% and 40.8% were positive for the cagA, vacA s1, cagE, iceA1, iceA2 and babA2 genes, respectively. We showed that the most common vacA subtype was s1a (79.6%). However, the s2 gene was found less frequently with an isolation rate of 8.2% of the H. pylori isolates. The genotypes iceA2 and vacA s1m2 were the most frequently found types in children with antral nodularity. In addition, the genotypes iceA1, babA2 and vacA s1m1 were found in similar ratios in all the H. pylori isolates obtained from children with peptic ulcer. The genotypes vacA s2m1 and s1c were not observed in any of isolates studied.

CONCLUSION: This study showed that vacA s1m2, cagA and iceA2 were the most common genotypes, and no association between antral nodularity and genotypes was observed.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; Children; Genotype; Polymerase chain reaction

Core tip: In this research we have attempted to determine the prevalence of some genotypes of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) among children in Eastern Turkey and to investigate the relationship between these genotypes with antral nodularity. Identifying the virulence genes among H. pylori isolates in children would allow for the development of new treatments and eradication policies in adults. The study results suggest that there was no significant association between antral nodularity and the presence of genotypes (P > 0.05).