RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The clinical outcome of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has been related to the presence of CagA protein. This protein is highly polymorphic and its oncogenic ability depends on the number and type of tyrosine phosphorylation sites in the EPIYAs repeat sequences (A, B, C and D). AIM: To determine the EPIYA patterns of the CagA gene in H. pylori strains and its relationship with gastrointestinal pathology in infected patients of the Regional Hospital of Talca. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The strains were isolated from gastric biopsies and characterized by bacteriological and molecular methods. Gastrointestinal pathology was characterized by histopathological analysis. For the determination of the presence of the cagA gene and the EPIYAs standards, the conventional PCR technique was used. RESULTS: 138 DNA samples from H. pylori strains were analyzed. 92.0% (127/138) of the isolates carried the cagA gene, of which 66 (52.0%) corresponded to the EPIYA-ABC pattern, 43 (33.8%) to the EPIYA-ABCC pattern and 21 16.5%) to the EPIYA-ABCCC phosphorylation pattern. 50.4% (64/127) of cagA positive strains isolated from dyspeptic patients in the Maule region have more than two C sites of phosphorylation. The number of EPIYAs C motifs was associated with the presence of more severe histopathological damage in the gastric mucosa.