HP0231 does not alter bacterial binding but it alters motility.

(A) Human gastric cancer epithelial cells were infected with CFDA-SE-labeled H. pylori PMSS1 or the PMSS1hp0231 mutant strain and binding was analyzed by FACS. Geometric Mean Fluorescence Intensity (GeoMFI) from three independent experiments (left) and a representative histogram (right) are shown. ***p≤0.001; ANOVA, Bonferroni’s multiple comparison test. Asterisks on top of the bars indicate significances relative to uninfected cells. (B) Immunofluorescence and corresponding bright field pictures of AGS cells co-incubated for 1 hour with the indicated H. pylori strains (green). Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue) and cell membranes with deep red (red). Magnification 600x. (C) H. pylori motility assessed after 2 days incubation on soft agar plates.