Clinical relevance of the babA2 genotype of Helicobacter pylori in Japanese clinical isolates

Genotypic variation of Helicobacter pylori is speculated to associate with different clinical outcomes. In Western countries, the gene encoding blood group antigen-binding adhesin (BabA), babA2, is of high clinical relevance and is a useful marker to identify patients who are at higher risk for peptic ulceration and gastric adenocarcinoma, as are vacA and cagA. We investigated the presence of babA2 and cagA in 179 Japanese clinical isolates by PCR and Southern blot analysis and looked for correlations with various clinical outcomes (nonulcer dyspepsia, duodenal ulcers, gastric ulcers gastric adenocarcinoma, and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma). The prevalence of the babA2 genotype was 84.9% and that of the cagA genotype was 96.1%. There was no correlation between the babA2 and cagA genotypes, and there was no association between the babA2 or cagA status and clinical outcome. These results indicate that babA2 status is not of high clinical relevance in Japan and that Japanese strains are different from those infecting Western populations.