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Recipes for ulcers
B O O K
R E V I E W S
Recipes for ulcers Helicobacter pylori Protocols edited by C.L. Clayton and H.L.T. Mobley Humana Press, 1997. $89.50 hbk (xiii + 274 pages) ISBN 0 896 03381 3 ccording to Medline, - 1000 papers are published each year on the human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori, in fields as diverse as gastroenterology, microbiology, epidemiology and immunology. This reflects the recent appreciation of the importance of this bacterium in peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. Much of the recent increase in H. pylori research is a result of the revolution in gastroenterology that has occurred since the discovery of this microorganism in 1983. The realization that peptic ulcer, and perhaps gastric cancer, is an infectious disease has meant that clinicians and researchers in this area have suddenly been forced to become microbiologists or at least to become familiar with concepts and practices hitherto considered irrelevant to the disease. Furthermore, established microbiologists and molecular biologists who have become interested in this fascinating bacterium have found that, like most microorganisms, H. pylori has its own peculiarities and difficulties that only become apparent when one begins to study it. Hence, a collection of detailed protocols might prevent new entrants to the field reinventing the
A
wheel and allow them to take advantage of the work others have done to tame this rather fastidious microorganism. In Helicobacter pylori Protocols, Chris Clayton and Harry Mobley have put together a collection of protocols on H. pylori contributed by many of the major authorities in the field. Contributions include methods for detection, culture and characterization of the bacterium, as well as chapters on the study of host responses and animal models. The selection of content gives, indirectly, an interesting overview of the major open questions in the field. The chapters are generally well written, and the protocols are very detailed: the extensive notes on the protocols are particularly useful and also provide an insight into the biology of H. pylori infection. I asked a couple of colleagues with specific H. pylori expertise to evaluate some of the protocols in their areas. Their responses tended to be 'we do it better...but it would work okay'. Knowing something of scientists' mentality, I suspect that these judgements should be considered positive. Clinically oriented researchers entering the field will find the chapters on detection and strain typing of particular value, but they are likely to find the more specialized chapters of little interest. In contrast, microbiologists and molecular biologists will find much of the detail pointless: most of it relating to standard procedures that are better described in general lab manuals.
However, the specific 'tricks' described in the notes will be useful even for very experienced microbiologists who have recently entered, or are contemplating entering, the H. pylori field. Research on H. pylori continues to expand. As more is learnt, it becomes increasingly clear that, although certain aspects of its lifestyle and virulence are unusual and nichespecific, in some respects this microorganism is ideal for studying more general features of bacterial pathogenesis. Analogous to other bacterial pathogens, it produces a complex toxin involved in disease and has acquired a pathogenicity island that has greatly increased its virulence. Infection is widespread, reaching over 50% of the world population, and its strain diversity makes it an excellent organism for the study of genetic population structure. Furthermore, it provides a challenge to immunologists investigating how bacterial pathogens evade the immune response in chronic infection. Together with its importance in world health, it is likely that H. pylori research will attract an increasing number of new and established researchers for some years to come. Consequently, Helicobacter pylori Protocols will be invaluable in any laboratory involved in almost any aspect of H. pylori research.
John L. Telford Instituto Richerche Immunobiologiche Siena, Chiron Vaccines, Via Fiorentino 1, 53100 Siena, Italy
In the other Trends journals A selection of recently published articles of interest to TIM readers. • FtsZ, a tubulin homologue in prokaryote cell division, by H.P. Erickson - Trends in Cell BioloEy7, 362-367 • Potential of lactic acid bacteria and novel antimicrobials against Gram-negative bacteria, by I.M. Helander, A. von Wright and T-M. Mattila-Sandholm - Trends in Food Science and TechnoloEy8, 1 4 6 - 1 5 0 • The SCID-hu mouse: an in vivo model for HIV-1 infection in humans, by M.L. Bonyhadi and H. Kaneshima - Molecular Medicine Today 3 , 2 4 6 - 2 5 3 • Of mice and (mad) cows - transgenic mice help to understand prions, by R. Gabizon and A. Taraboulos - Trends in Genetics 13, 2 6 4 - 2 6 9 • Molecular intimacy between proteins specifying plant-pathogen recognition, by J.E. Parker and M.J. Coleman - Trends in Biochemical Sciences 22, 291-296
TRENDS,N
M
CROB,OLOGY
420
VOL.
S
NO.
10
OCTOBE
1997
R E V I E W S
Recipes for ulcers Helicobacter pylori Protocols edited by C.L. Clayton and H.L.T. Mobley Humana Press, 1997. $89.50 hbk (xiii + 274 pages) ISBN 0 896 03381 3 ccording to Medline, - 1000 papers are published each year on the human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori, in fields as diverse as gastroenterology, microbiology, epidemiology and immunology. This reflects the recent appreciation of the importance of this bacterium in peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. Much of the recent increase in H. pylori research is a result of the revolution in gastroenterology that has occurred since the discovery of this microorganism in 1983. The realization that peptic ulcer, and perhaps gastric cancer, is an infectious disease has meant that clinicians and researchers in this area have suddenly been forced to become microbiologists or at least to become familiar with concepts and practices hitherto considered irrelevant to the disease. Furthermore, established microbiologists and molecular biologists who have become interested in this fascinating bacterium have found that, like most microorganisms, H. pylori has its own peculiarities and difficulties that only become apparent when one begins to study it. Hence, a collection of detailed protocols might prevent new entrants to the field reinventing the
A
wheel and allow them to take advantage of the work others have done to tame this rather fastidious microorganism. In Helicobacter pylori Protocols, Chris Clayton and Harry Mobley have put together a collection of protocols on H. pylori contributed by many of the major authorities in the field. Contributions include methods for detection, culture and characterization of the bacterium, as well as chapters on the study of host responses and animal models. The selection of content gives, indirectly, an interesting overview of the major open questions in the field. The chapters are generally well written, and the protocols are very detailed: the extensive notes on the protocols are particularly useful and also provide an insight into the biology of H. pylori infection. I asked a couple of colleagues with specific H. pylori expertise to evaluate some of the protocols in their areas. Their responses tended to be 'we do it better...but it would work okay'. Knowing something of scientists' mentality, I suspect that these judgements should be considered positive. Clinically oriented researchers entering the field will find the chapters on detection and strain typing of particular value, but they are likely to find the more specialized chapters of little interest. In contrast, microbiologists and molecular biologists will find much of the detail pointless: most of it relating to standard procedures that are better described in general lab manuals.
However, the specific 'tricks' described in the notes will be useful even for very experienced microbiologists who have recently entered, or are contemplating entering, the H. pylori field. Research on H. pylori continues to expand. As more is learnt, it becomes increasingly clear that, although certain aspects of its lifestyle and virulence are unusual and nichespecific, in some respects this microorganism is ideal for studying more general features of bacterial pathogenesis. Analogous to other bacterial pathogens, it produces a complex toxin involved in disease and has acquired a pathogenicity island that has greatly increased its virulence. Infection is widespread, reaching over 50% of the world population, and its strain diversity makes it an excellent organism for the study of genetic population structure. Furthermore, it provides a challenge to immunologists investigating how bacterial pathogens evade the immune response in chronic infection. Together with its importance in world health, it is likely that H. pylori research will attract an increasing number of new and established researchers for some years to come. Consequently, Helicobacter pylori Protocols will be invaluable in any laboratory involved in almost any aspect of H. pylori research.
John L. Telford Instituto Richerche Immunobiologiche Siena, Chiron Vaccines, Via Fiorentino 1, 53100 Siena, Italy
In the other Trends journals A selection of recently published articles of interest to TIM readers. • FtsZ, a tubulin homologue in prokaryote cell division, by H.P. Erickson - Trends in Cell BioloEy7, 362-367 • Potential of lactic acid bacteria and novel antimicrobials against Gram-negative bacteria, by I.M. Helander, A. von Wright and T-M. Mattila-Sandholm - Trends in Food Science and TechnoloEy8, 1 4 6 - 1 5 0 • The SCID-hu mouse: an in vivo model for HIV-1 infection in humans, by M.L. Bonyhadi and H. Kaneshima - Molecular Medicine Today 3 , 2 4 6 - 2 5 3 • Of mice and (mad) cows - transgenic mice help to understand prions, by R. Gabizon and A. Taraboulos - Trends in Genetics 13, 2 6 4 - 2 6 9 • Molecular intimacy between proteins specifying plant-pathogen recognition, by J.E. Parker and M.J. Coleman - Trends in Biochemical Sciences 22, 291-296
TRENDS,N
M
CROB,OLOGY
420
VOL.
S
NO.
10
OCTOBE
1997