Queensland scientists link gene to stomach bacteria

Building on a Nobel Prize winning discovery, Queensland scientists have found the chink in our armour that allows a bacteria known to cause stomach ulcers and gastric cancer to infect us.

Research teams from Mater Medical Research Institute (MMRI) and the University of Melbourne have proven a gene called MUC1 is our frontline of defence against Helicobacter pylori and that a mutation of this gene leaves us vulnerable to infection.

MMRI researcher Associate Professor Mike McGuckin said this discovery, published in the journal Gastroenterology, solved a mystery which had long baffled scientists and doctors.

“Helicobacter is a stomach bacteria which affects half the world’s population—but not everyone with the infection experiences problems or develops ulcers or cancer,” A/Prof McGuckin said.

“While studies had suggested a genetic link, our findings are a breakthrough, proving conclusively for the first time that MUC1 protects us from infection.”

Australian researchers Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology in 2005 for their discovery that Helicobacter infections were the cause of stomach ulcers and stomach cancer.

This recent study at the MMRI has built on this research, showing that MUC1 is central to protecting the cells that line the stomach from the Helicobacter infection, limiting the bacteria’s ability to penetrate and infect cells and cause the inflammation that leads to stomach ulcers and cancer.

A/Prof McGuckin said the discovery was the tip of the iceberg and could lead to new treatments and eventually fewer deaths from gastric cancer.

“The findings suggest that individuals who lacked the MUC1 gene or had mutated versions of it were more vulnerable to being infected with Helicobacter.”

“In the short term, this discovery could enable doctors to study this gene in patients and identify those who are at risk of infection and long-term complications to monitor them closely.”

“In the long term, this finding could be the key to developing a vaccine for Helicobacter that worked by stimulating the MUC1 gene into action to prevent the initial infection and therefore the subsequent gastric ulcers and cancer.”

MUC1 lines the surfaces of the body that are exposed to the outside world but not covered by the skin such as the eye, the gastro-intestinal, respiratory and reproductive tracts to protect us from infection.