Helicobacter pylori flagella: antigenic profile and protective immunity.

Reproducible induction of sterilizing immunity, essential for an effective Helicobacter pylori vaccine, remains elusive. As motility is essential for gastric colonization by Helicobacter, we evaluated whether a vaccine targeting flagella induces improved protection. Mice immunized with a vaccine enriched for H. pylori flagella sheath proteins exhibited significantly reduced colonization, equivalent to that observed in mice immunized with whole-cell lysate. Two-dimensional profiles indicated that flagella contain proteins not evident in whole-cell lysate. Moreover, comparison of Western blot profiles using whole-cell lysate antisera revealed striking differences in antigenicity.