A neutrophil chemotactic factor present in H. pylori but absent in H. mustelae.

This study was designed to compare the capabilities of Helicobacter pylori and Helicobacter mustelae to generate neutrophil chemotactic activity (NCA) in vitro. H. pylori and H. mustelae were grown in parallel cultures under identical conditions. The cultures were washed and transferred to saline solution for 3 hr to avoid detecting nonspecific chemotactic activity from culture media. Supernatants were subjected to size-exclusion HPLC. All peaks from HPLC were collected and assayed for NCA. Peaks having significant NCA were subjected to gel electrophoresis. H. pylori generated 85.9 +/- 1.7% NCA compared to only 41.6 +/- 2.5% for H. mustelae (P < 0.001). The HPLC peak containing the highest NCA from H. pylori revealed a band on gel electrophoresis at approximately 10.5 kDa. This band was not present on gels from H. mustelae. We conclude that H. pylori produces a neutrophil chemotactic factor lacking from H. mustelae. This offers an explanation for the histologic difference between gastritides caused by these organisms.