Clustering of clinical strains of Helicobacter pylori analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis

Strain variations of Helicobacter pylori have been tested by numerous methods and compared among different patient groups. The aim of this study was to investigate whether H. pylori expresses disease-specific proteins that can be detected by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE). H. pylori strains isolated from duodenal ulcer, gastric cancer, and gastritis patients were analyzed. Extensive variation in spot patterns was observed between the strains, but a dendrogram analysis revealed that some strains within each disease group clustered together. Eight proteins were sequenced and found in the H. pylori genome sequence. 2-D PAGE is a useful method for studies of protein expression and for highlighting the extensive strain variation that H. pylori exhibits.