Molecular biology in diagnosis and epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori: PCR for the detection and AP-PCR for characterization of patient isolates.

Infection with Helicobacter pylori causes chronic active gastritis and has been associated with gastric and duodenal ulcer disease. In biopsy samples of 110 patients with clinical symptoms of active gastritis, H. pylori was detected by means of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using species-specific primers defining a 858 bp DNA fragment of H.

Humoral and cellular immunity in HIV positive and HIV negative Helicobacter pylori infected patients.

The prevalence of H. pylori associated gastritis seems to be different in HIV positive and HIV negative patients. Therefore a correlation to immunodeficiency can be postulated.

Immune response to toxic-shock-syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) and to staphylococcal enterotoxins A, B and C in Staphylococcus aureus infections.

Isolates from 100 monomicrobial Staphylococcus aureus infections were tested for the production of TSST-1 and the enterotoxins A, B and C, which were found to be synthesized as a single toxin in 34 strains, or in combination of two or more toxins in 26. Acute phase sera and one or two further serum samples from 60 patients with toxigenic (either enterotoxins and/or TSST-1) S. aureus isolates were tested for humoral immune responses.

Prevalence of serum antibodies to toxic-shock-syndrome-toxin-1 and to staphylococcal enterotoxins A, B and C in West-Germany.

Sera of 152 healthy blood donors and 43 infants 9 to 12 months of age were tested for serum antibodies to TSST-1 and staphylococcal enterotoxins A, B and C by a microtiter ELISA assay. Only 50% of the adult population had detectable antibody-titers to enterotoxin A, whereas 80% to enterotoxin C and 90% to enterotoxin B and TSST-1, which is very similar to the prevalence of TSST-1 antibodies among USA-residents. The "protective" titer of TSST-1-antibodies can be estimated to be 1:100 in the test system used by comparison with anti-TSST-1-titers in five acute phase sera from confirmed menstrual TSS cases.