Stomach bacteria switch off human immune defenses to cause disease

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Sep. 2, 2013 — Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that establishes a life-long stomach infection in humans, which in some cases can lead to duodenal ulcers or stomach cancer. New research, presented at this week’s Society for General Microbiology Autumn Conference, gives us a clearer understanding of how these bacteria can manipulate the human immune system to survive in the mucosal lining of the stomach.

Researchers from the University of Nottingham have shown that H. pylori is able to supress the body’s normal production of ‘human beta defensin 1’ (h
 
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