This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Skibinski, D. A. G.
Right arrow Articles by Telford, J. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Skibinski, D. A. G.
Right arrow Articles by Telford, J. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, January 2006, p. 49-55, Vol. 74, No. 1
0019-9567/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.74.1.49-55.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Cell-Specific Phenotype of the Polymorphic vacA Midregion Is Independent of the Appearance of the Cell Surface Receptor Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase ß

David A. G. Skibinski, Christophe Genisset,{dagger} Silvia Barone, and John L. Telford*

IRIS, Chiron Srl, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy

Received 17 May 2005/ Returned for modification 22 July 2005/ Accepted 13 October 2005

There are two alleles, m1 and m2, of the midregion of the vacuolating cytotoxin gene (vacA) of Helicobacter pylori which code for toxins with different cell specificities. Here we describe the construction of five chimeric strains in which regions of vacA were exchanged between the two genotypes. By analyzing the toxicity of these strains for HeLa and RK13 cells we have confirmed that a 148-amino-acid region determines the phenotypic differences between the two forms of the protein and that this entire region is important for cytotoxicity. Furthermore, we have used our chimeric strains to investigate whether variations in the midregion of VacA have an effect on phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced VacA sensitivity in HL-60 cells. The PMA-induced VacA sensitivity of HL-60 cells has been previously associated with the appearance of the cell surface receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase beta (RPTPß). Our data indicate that both the m1 and m2 forms of VacA are able to utilize RPTPß, and the cell-specific phenotype of the midregion is independent of the presence of RPTPß. It appears that another as-yet-unidentified receptor exists in HL-60 cells that accounts for the m2 phenotype in this cell line. Also, by studying the effect of PMA on levels of RPTPß in other cell lines and toxicity of VacA in these cell lines we have shown that RPTPß does not play a major role in the vacuolation of HeLa cells.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: IRIS, Chiron Srl, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy. Phone: 390577243470. Fax: 390577243564. E-mail: john_telford{at}chiron.com.

Editor: J. D. Clements

{dagger} Present address: Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine, Via Orus 2, 35129 Padova, Italy.

Infection and Immunity, January 2006, p. 49-55, Vol. 74, No. 1
0019-9567/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.74.1.49-55.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Gangwer, K. A., Mushrush, D. J., Stauff, D. L., Spiller, B., McClain, M. S., Cover, T. L., Lacy, D. B. (2007). Crystal structure of the Helicobacter pylori vacuolating toxin p55 domain. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104: 16293-16298 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»