Helicobacter Research Group
The Helicobacter Research Group is part of the Academic Department of Surgery, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
We are a small group working on a range of projects relating to gastrointestinal infections in humans.
Much of our current research centres on the gastric pathogen, Helicobacter pylori and the role that small outer membrane vesicles (OMV) shed from the bacterial surface play in the development of H. pylori-associated disease, including gastric cancer.
We have shown a vesicle-mediated effect on epithelial cells that is linked to iron-regulated differences in OMV composition, which suggests that host iron levels may have a role in the outcome of H. pylori infection. We are also investigating the effect(s) of H. pylori on host iron homeostasis, particularly changes in intracellular iron levels and distribution, based on the observation that chronic infection has been linked to host iron deficiency.
More recently, we have turned our attention to the colon, where we are investigating a role for enteric bacteria in the development of inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer, two diseases which are the cause of major health problems in New Zealand.