Grant: Operating Grant

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a stomach pathogen that infects 50% of the world population. H. pylori infection can cause gastric ulcers that lead to cancer. H. pylori infection is treated with antibiotics; however, resistance to common therapies has led to the search for new therapeutic approaches. The shape of the H. pylori bacterium is helical which is proposed to aid burrowing into the thick stomach mucosal layer. We are investigating bacterial proteins that work to maintain the helical shape of H. pylori. Deletion of the genes encoding for these proteins result in rod shaped bacteria that are less able to colonize the stomach of mice. Through investigation of the proteins responsible for helical shape we aim to understand how shape is determined and develop inhibitors that will used to understand the role of cell shape in colonization of stomach mucosa. These inhibitors may be lead compounds for the development of new therapies to treat H. pylori infection in humans.