[A vaccine against Helicobacter pylori infection]

Oral immunization with the urease of Helicobacter pylori was shown to induce protection against Helicobacter felis in mice. The first identification of a protective antigen (urease) was followed by the identification of the protective antigens, such as the heat-shock protein (HspA) and the vacuolating cytotoxin VacA. The final selection of the antigens to be used in a vaccine depends on the conservation of these antigens among Helicobacter pylori strains, their role as virulence factors and conservation of their immunogenic properties when expressed as recombinant proteins. Furthermore, therapeutic immunizations were also effective in eradication of Helicobacter from chronically infected animals. These encouraging results imply that immunization may also be useful in the therapy of Helicobacter pylori infection in humans. In this review, preliminary data and directions for future research on Helicobacter vaccines are described.