Helicobacter pylori infection: what's new

This review is aimed at describing the main findings of 2011 on the aspects of Helicobacter pylori-related gastric disease linked to CagA and to T-regulatory cells (Treg), and on the attempts to improve the treatment efficacy.

Recent findings presented in this review are as follows: CagA interferes with tumor suppression; tolerance protects from H. pylori-induced disease; modified H. pylori treatments/regimens can afford higher efficacy than the standard triple therapy.

H. pylori colonizes the human stomach causing gastritis and severe diseases including gastric cancer. One of the most dangerous H. pylori factors, CagA, has been investigated in relation to gastric cancer: recently this relationship was strongly reinforced by the finding that CagA interacts with the tumor suppressor apoptosis-stimulating protein of p53-2 (ASPP2), promoting p53 degradation. Treg have been proposed to be involved in H. pylori infection and gastric disease: recent findings suggest that Treg-induced tolerance, rather than immunity to H. pylori, may result in less severe disease. The eradication rates achieved with the standard triple therapy dropped below 80%, mainly due to antibiotic resistance, while no vaccines are currently licensed; new treatments/regimens were subjected to clinical trials, in some cases strongly increasing the eradication rates.