Zm. Ge et al., Characterization of proteins in the outer membrane preparation of a murinepathogen, Helicobacter bilis, INFEC IMMUN, 69(5), 2001, pp. 3502-3506
Helicobacter bills is a bacterial pathogen associated viith multifocal hepa
titis and inflammatory bowel disease in certain strains of mice. This bacte
rium colonizes the liver, bile, and lower intestine in mice and has also be
en isolated from a wide spectrum of laboratory animals. In this study, prot
eins present in the outer membrane preparation (OMP) of four H, bilis strai
ns isolated from a mouse. a dog, a rat, and a gerbil were characterized and
compared with that of Helicobacter pylori, a human gastric pathogen, all f
oul H, bilis strains had similar OMP protein profiles that were distinct fr
om those of H, pylori. Immunoblotting demonstrated that OMP proteins from H
. bilis and H, pylori have Little cross-reactivity, except for their flagel
lins. Nine major immunogenic polypeptides were present in the H. bills OMPs
. By using two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electr
ophoresis, five heat-modifiable proteins with molecular masses of 82, 66, 5
2, 47 and 37 kDa were identified. The N-terminal sequences of the 46- end 4
7-kDa OMP proteins and no homology with protein sequences available in publ
ic databases. These results indicate that H, bilis has a conserved, unique
OMP protein profile that is distinct from those of H, pylori.