Abstract
AIM: To study the immune response of host to Helicobacter pylori VacA. METHODS: The monocyte/macrophage-like U937 cells were infected with Helicobacter pylori vacA-positive strain NCTC 11638 or isogenic vacA-negative mutant. Differentially expressed genes were identified at 2, 6, 10, and 24 h post-infection by cDNA microarray. Differential expressions of some genes were confirmed by Northern blot. RESULTS: More than 100 genes altered their mRNA expression at different time points respectively, many of which were identified to be related to immune evasion. CONCLUSION: VacA is a crucial element for H pylori to escape from host immune defense by means of differentially regulating the expression of some related genes. These genes, previously known or unknown to be involved in the mechanism of immune evasion, deserve further investigation to unearth much more information complicated in the immune response.