| The cag (cytotoxin-associated gene) pathogenicity island (cagPAI) is one of the major virulence
determinants of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of
the three genes (tnpA, tnpB, and cagA) in H. pylori isolated from Azerbaijani patients with the different gastrointestinal
disease. A total of 362 gastric biopsies were collected from hospitals of Tabriz University of Medical
Sciences, and were cultured on Brucella agar. The tnpA, tnpB, and cagA genes were detected by PCR. Of
the total 264 H. pylori isolates, tnpA, tnpB, and cagA genes were detected in 120 (45.5%), 56 (21.2%) and
172 (65.2%), respectively. A significant association between tnpA and tnpB genes and clinical outcomes were
found (P < 0.05). The cagA status was not related to clinical outcomes in our subjects. The predominant genotype
among cag-PAI is the cagA. The prevalence of tnpA, tnpB, and cagA genes are high in patients with gastric
cancer, and a significant association is revealed between tnpA and tnpB with gastric cancer. |