Dr. Rama
Bansil
Boston
University
The bacterium
Helicobacter pylori (
H. pylori), has evolved to survive in the highly acidic
environment of the stomach and colonize on the epithelial surface of the gastric mucosa.
Its pathogenic effects are well known to cause gastritis, peptic ulcers and gastric cancer.
In order to infect the stomach and establish colonies on the mucus epithelial surface, the
bacterium has to move across the gel-like gastric mucus lining of the stomach under
acidic conditions. In this talk I will address how this helical shaped bacterium gets past
the protective mucus barrier from a biophysical perspective. I will present our recent
results on the motility of
H. pylori in mucin solutions and gels, and show how infection
with
H. pylori in turn impacts the viscoelastic properties of mucin. The experimental
results will be compared to calculations of swimming speed as a function of the shape
and size of bacteria based on resistive force theory.
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