Investigation of Cell Wall Turnover and Recycling in Helicobacter pylori Cell Shape Determination and Innate Immune Activation

Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium infecting half of the world’s population. It is found in the human stomach where it contributes to the development of peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. H. pylori’s unique helical shape may help in the penetration of the gastric mucus and evasion of human defenses. A bacterium’s cell shape is produced and maintained by the cell wall and cell wall turnover products are sensed by innate immune receptors. H. pylori has three interesting genes we hypothesize may affect these processes; slt and mlt, which are involved in cell wall turnover, and oppB, which mediates cell wall recycling. Preliminary studies have shown that mutation of slt and mlt alters cell shape and mutation of oppB affects innate immune sensing. To verify the role of these genes in cell shape and innate immune signaling, we inserted these genes back into the H. pylori deletion mutant strains at a second site. We hope to see a restoration of the wild-type phenotype, which is disrupted when these genes are removed. These findings can help to verify the function of these genes, which could potentially be used as a target for various treatments for H. pylori in the future.