THE DYNAMICS OF HELICOBACTER-PYLORI INFECTION OF THE HUMAN STOMACH

Helicobacter pylori is a bacterial pathogen of the gastrointestinal tr act of humans causing chronic superficial gastritis which persists for decades. The mechanism by which H. pylori is able to persist, despite environmental constraints, remains unknown. Therefore, a model is pro posed describing the interactions of H. pylori with its host, involvin g an autoregulatory network in which inflammation leads to nutrient re lease. A determinist mathematical model examining the interactions nec essary to maintain chronic infection indicates that this proposed auto regulatory network can produce steady-state solutions, and the model i s robust in encompassing biological variations. (C) 1995 Academic Pres s Limited