Influence of gastric acid on susceptibility to infection with ingested bacterial pathogens

Sharon M Tennant, Elizabeth Louise Hartland, Tongted Phumoonna, Dena Lyras, Julian Ian Rood, Roy Michael Robins-Browne, Ian R van Driel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

137 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Despite the widely held belief that gastric acid serves as a barrier to bacterial pathogens, there are almost no experimental data to support this hypothesis. We have developed a mouse model to quantify the effectiveness of gastric acid in mediating resistance to infection with ingested bacteria. Mice that were constitutively hypochlorhydric due to a mutation in a gastric H(+)/K(+)-ATPase (proton pump) gene were infected with Yersinia enterocolitica, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Citrobacter rodentium or Clostridium perfringens cells or spores. Significantly greater numbers of Yersinia, Salmonella and Citrobacter cells (P
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)639 - 645
Number of pages6
JournalInfection and Immunity
Volume76
Publication statusPublished - 2008

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