Gene Expression Profiling of Helicobacter pylori Reveals a Growth-Phase-Dependent Switch in Virulence Gene Expression
Year: 2003
Type: article
Abstract: The global pattern of growth-phase-dependent gene expression of Helicobacter pylori during in vitro culture was analyzed by using a high-density DNA microarray. To detect consistent coordinated gene expression in this bacterium, temporal changes in transcription were assessed in two independent time courses. Cluster analysis of the expression profiles highlighted a major switch in gene expression during the late log-to-stationary phase transition that we have termed the Log-Stat switch. Statistical analysis of the genes that were significantly induced or repressed during the Log-Stat switch revealed that many of these genes were related to virulence. Among these, expression of the genes for the neutrophil activating protein (napA) and the major flagellin subunit (flaA) were significantly induced. Additionally, the expression of a number of genes involved in iron homeostasis changed dramatically at this switch; the gene for the iron-storage protein, pfr, was induced, while the genes for two putative iron uptake proteins, fecA and frpB, were significantly repressed. These data suggest that the late log phase may correspond to the most virulent phase of growth in H. pylori and may be intimately related to its pathogenesis. The use of microarrays to analyze the kinetics of the transcriptional response of a bacterial pathogen to a changing environment has enabled the discovery of previously unappreciated relationships between genes by elucidation of coordinated gene expression profiles.
Source: Infection and Immunity
Institutions: Stanford Medicine, Stanford University, UNSW Sydney
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, University of New South Wales, National Institutes of Health, Medical Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
OpenAlex ID: W2159656294