Conference Abstract | Volume 9 (ConfPro8): Abstract 112 | Published: 14 Oct 2026
Viny Adrien Fouomene Kenne1,, Laure Brigitte Kouitcheu Mabeku1,&
1Medical Microbiology and Antimicrobial Substances Laboratory, Biotechnology center, university of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon
&Corresponding author: Laure Brigitte Kouitcheu Mabeku, Department of Microbiology/University of Yaoundé 1, Cameroon, E-mail: laurebkouitcheu@yahoo.fr, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6447-1413
Received: 11 Mar 2026, Accepted: 30 Aug 2026, Published: 14 Oct 2026
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, gastro-duodenal diseases, chaperone systems, Cameroon
©Viny Adrien Fouomene Kenne et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Viny Adrien Fouomene Kenne et al., Potential pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori strains circulating in Cameroon: Prevalence of proteins involved in the pathogenesis of helicobacter pylori-related gastro-duodenal diseases and a plausible explanation of Africa enigma. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2026;9(ConfPro8):112. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO8-00112
There is a contradictory observation referring as the “African enigma” illustrating that in sub-Saharan Africa where Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection prevalence is high, gastric cancer incidence is lower. The pathogenicity of H. pylori is mediated by an interplay of several virulence factors that might serves as potential predictors for the development of gastric diseases. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of H. pylori proteins involved in its pathogenicity such as H. pylori iron binding (GroEL), flagella (FliD), adhesin A (HpaA), γ-glutamyl transferase (gGT), neutrophil-Activating Protein (NapA), cell translocation kinase (CtkA), high‐temperature requirement A protein (HtrA), disulfide bonds (HP0231) proteins, and cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) and vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA) known as carcinogenic proteins among infected patients.
This descriptive analysis study was based on 272 serums from H. pylori IgM-positive dyspeptic patients enrolled from June to September 2024 in Cameroon. H. pylori CagA, VacA, GroEL, FliD, HpaA, gGT, NapA, CtkA, HtrA, and HP0231 proteins were detected using multiplex serology method. The detected H. pylori antigens were classified as antigens for colonization (HpaA, FliD), chaperone systems (gGT, GroEL), carcinogenic factors (CagA, VacA), modulatory factors of CagA/VacA functions (HP023, HtrA), and immunomodulatory factors (NapA, CtkA). The protocol was approved by the institutional Review Board and Regional ethical committee of the selected medical center. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software 25.0.
H pylori CagA, VacA, FliD, HpaA, GroEL, gGT, HtrA, HP0231, CtkA, and NapA proteins were present in 97.1, 77.2, 77.2, 73.2, 61.1, 34.2, 25.4, 18.8, 11.4, and 9.9%, respectively. Proteins involved in colonisation, carcinogenesis, chaperone systems, immune response, and those modulating carcinogenesis were detected in 81.9, 76.1, 70.5, 19.8, and 11.7%, respectively. The higher prevalent rate of antigen for adhesion/colonization & motility (HpaA/FliD: 81.98%), antigens for enzymes & stress/chaperone systems (gGt/Groel: 70.5%) among our strains, indicate their strong ability to adhere and colonize the gastric mucosa, to compete with other species in the colonization niche, to initiate persistent infections and to generate chronic infection unless treated. The lower prevalence of H. pylori proteins modulators of CagA/VacA function; (Htra : 25.4%, HP0231:18.8% and Htra/HP0231co-expression: 11.7%) and H. pylori proteins required for immune responses (Napa, Ctka; 19.85%) among our strains, indicate a low ability of CagA/VacA proteins to express their carcinogenic effect because of the scarcity of modulators and inflammatory inducers.
Our results showed that H. pylori strains in our milieu have a strong ability to colonize the gastric mucosa and a low carcinogenic potential despite of their high carcinogenic factors due to the scarcity of inflammatory inducers and proteins modulating carcinogenesis. This finding could shed light on “African enigma”.
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