Bacteria Strain Linked To Stomach Ulcers Can Induce Cancer

[dropkickpa]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/119544.php

- Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Researchers Find New Assault Mechanism

Researchers with Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center have discovered one of the clues that may explain how a common stomach bacteria can trigger stomach cancer.

Helicobacter pylori infects nearly 50 percent of the population and is the strongest known risk factor for gastric cancer. However, only a fraction of those infected with H. pylori develop cancer, so researchers have been trying to define the pathways that lead to cancer development.

Richard Peek Jr., M.D., director of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, and colleagues at the Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center investigated a cag+ strain of H. pylori - a strain that increases risk of peptic ulcers and gastric cancer - in mouse models. They determined that an H. pylori protein switches on a cell receptor called Decay-accelerating factor (DAF) and that DAF protects infected gastric cells from the immune system. Their findings were published in the Aug. 29 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

"We found that the bacteria had actually co-opted a host cell protein, utilizing it as a receptor," said Peek. "This facilitated infection of the stomach and induction of gastric inflammation and injury."

It is exciting to find pathogenic organisms responsible for some cancer development, gives us another way to work on preventing these cancers.

[LeftishBrit]

1. Yes. And there are antibiotics against Helicobacter...

that already mean that far fewer people end up needing surgery for ulcers. It is good to know that there are ways to reduce the risk of this form of cancer by fairly straightforward means.

[Orrex]

2. I've always cautioned against bacteria strain

You should make sure to warm up your bacteria before a workout.

[dropkickpa]

3. Stretching is VERY important,

you wouldn't want to pull your helicobacter!