PROTEINS ENCODED BY THE CAG PATHOGENICITY ISLAND OF HELICOBACTER-PYLORI ARE REQUIRED FOR NF-KAPPA-B ACTIVATION

Helicobacter pylori is the etiological agent in the development of chr onic gastritis, duodenal ulceration, and gastric adenocarcinoma. The d ifference in virulence between individual strains is reflected in thei r ability to induce interleukin-8 (IL-8) secretion from gastric epithe lial cells. It has been shown that virulence is associated with the pr esence of a bacterial gene cluster (a pathogenicity island). We have r ecently demonstrated that H. pylori-mediated IL-8 secretion requires a ctivation of the transcription factor NF-kappa B. Here, we show that N F-kappa B induction requires six membrane proteins encoded within the pathogenicity island.