Vaccines

Vaccination against Helicobacter has been accomplished in animal models. It has been shown that resistance of Helicobacter pylori to the immune response can be circumvented by orogastric immunization with H. pylori antigens, together with mucosal adjuvants such as cholera toxin of Vibrio cholerae or the heat labile toxin of Escherichia coli. H. pylori immunogens successfully tested so far include whole cell extracts, urease, vacuolating cytotoxin and heat shock proteins. Because vaccination is not only effective in preventing infection, but also in curing the disease, this seems a promising approach to combat H. pylori disease. Clinical trials using urease as the immunogen are currently underway and the results of these studies are eagerly awaited. Major goals of future research and development include finding a mucosal adjuvant for human use, improving the design and efficacy of the vaccines, and understanding the interaction between the different components of the immune response involved against H. pylori infection.