The population of India harbors one of the world's most highly diverse gene pools, owing to the influx of successive waves of immigrants over regular periods in time. Several phylogenetic studies involving mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosomal variation have demonstrated Europeans to have been the first settlers in India. Nevertheless, certain controversy exists, due to the support given to the thesis that colonization was by the Austro-Asiatic group, prior to the Europeans. Thus, the aim was to investigate pre-historic colonization of India by anatomically modern humans, using conserved stretches of five amino acid (EPIYA) sequences in the cagA gene of Helicobacter pylori. Simultaneously, the existence of a pathogenic relationship of tyrosine phosphorylation motifs (TPMs), in 32 H. pylori strains isolated from subjects with several forms of gastric diseases, was also explored. High resolution sequence analysis of the above described genes was performed. The nucleotide sequences obtained were translated into amino acids using MEGA (version 4.0) software for EPIYA. An MJ-Network was constructed for obtaining TPM haplotypes by using NETWORK (version 4.5) software. The findings of the study suggest that Indian H. pylori strains share a common ancestry with Europeans. No specific association of haplotypes with the outcome of disease was revealed through additional network analysis of TPMs.

RACIONAL e OBJETIVOS: O Helicobacter pylori tem sido incriminado como causador de vários distúrbios digestivos, incluindo o adenocarcinoma gástrico. Diversos genes patogênicos (os genes do cag-PAI, vacA, iceA e babA), em combinação ou independentes, têm sido reportados como fatores de aumento de risco para ulceração/carcinoma gástrico, tendo o gene cagA forte valor preditivo. A procura da identificação de novos genes que possam vir a ser marcadores da progressão da doença levaram à descoberta do gene hrgA. MÉTODOS: Cinqüenta e seis amostras de H. pylori provenientes de pacientes com diversas afecções gástricas foram examinadas para caracterizar a presença do hrgA juntamente ao cagA, usando iniciadores específicos da reação de cadeia da polimerase. Após amplificação, os produtos amplificados pela PCR foram seqüenciados para a identificação de variações específicas nas seqüências do H. pylori isolado de diferentes doenças gastroduodenais. A análise histopatológica foi feita para assegurar qualquer mudança significativa nos escores dos indivíduos infectados com cagA+hrgA+ e cagA-/hrgA+. RESULTADOS: Todas as 56 amostras (100%) foram amplificadas com iniciadores específicos para o hrgA, enquanto que 81,71% mostraram a presença do cagA. O seqüenciamento do produto amplificado pela PCR mostrou 99% de homologia. A histologia entre os grupos cagA+/hrgA+ e cagA-/hrgA+ não mostrou nenhuma diferença significante. CONCLUSÃO: O gene hrgA do H. pylori não é o marcador ideal para identificar indivíduos com alto risco de desenvolvimento de doenças gastrointestinais como a neoplasia de estômago.

BACKGROUND and AIM: Helicobacter pylori has been proven to be responsible for causing various gastrointestinal disorders including gastric adenocarcinoma. Several genes of pathogen (the genes of the cag-PAI, vacA, iceA, and babA) either in combination or independently have been reported to significantly increase the risk of ulceration/gastric carcinoma, with the cagA gene having the strongest predictive value. Pursuit to identify new genes which could serve as a marker of overt disease progression, lead to the discovery of hrgA gene. METHODS: Fifty-six indigenous strains of H. pylori from subjects with various gastric disorder were screened to assess the status of hrgA gene along with the cagA gene using simple polymerase chain reaction using specific oligonucleotide primers. Post-amplification, amplicons were subjected for sequencing to identify any strain specific variations in sequences from the H. pylori isolated from different disease manifestations. Histopathological analysis was done to ascertain any significant change in the histological scores of subjects infected with cagA+/hrgA+ and cagA-/hrg+ strains. RESULTS: All the 56 (100%) subjects amplified with the oligonucleotide primers specific to hrgA gene, whereas 81.71% subjects showed the presence of cagA gene. Sequencing of the amplimers showed 99% homology. Histology of the cagA+/hrgA+ and cagA-/hrg+ subjects did not show any significant difference. CONCLUSION: hrgA gene of Helicobacter pylori is not a ideal surrogate marker for identifying individuals with higher risk of developing overt gastro-duodenal diseases such as neoplasia of the stomach.