BackgroundMany bacteria and archaea possess a defense system called clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) associated proteins (CRISPR-Cas system) against invaders such as phages or plasmids. This system has not been demonstrated in Helicobacter pylori. The numbers of spacer in CRISPR array differ among bacterial strains and can be used as a genetic marker for bacterial typing.ResultsA total of 36 H. pylori isolates were collected from patients in three hospitals located in the central (PBH) and southern (SKH) regions of Thailand. It is of interest that CRISPR-like sequences of this bacterium were detected in vlpC encoded for VacA-like protein C. Virulence genes were investigated and the most pathogenic genotype (cagA vacA s1m1) was detected in 17 out of 29 (58.6%) isolates from PBH and 5 out of 7 (71.4%) from SKH. vapD gene was identified in each one isolate from PBH and SKH. CRISPR-like sequences and virulence genes of 20 isolates of H. pylori obtained in this study were analyzed and CRISPR-virulence typing was constructed and compared to profiles obtained by the random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. The discriminatory power (DI) of CRISPR-virulence typing was not different from RAPD typing.ConclusionCRISPR-virulence typing in H. pylori is easy and reliable for epidemiology and can be used for inter-laboratory interpretation.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13099-017-0215-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) associated autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) has been recognized as a type of autoimmune disease that responds to corticosteroid. The diagnosis is based on elevation of the serum IgG4 level, abundance of IgG4 enhanced plasma cell infiltration in the portal region of the liver, and satisfaction of the criteria for “definite AIH” under the revised International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group (IAIHG) scoring system. However, the clinical course of the disease is unclear. Case presentation A 65-year-old man with jaundice and peripheral blood eosinophilia. His IAIHG and simplified score was compatible with definite AIH and his IgG4 level was elevated. Magnetic resonance imaging did not reveal abnormalities in the hepatobiliary system or pancreas. A liver biopsy revealed interface hepatitis with IgG4 positive plasma cell infiltration in the portal region, without evidence of bile duct injury. He responded to 4-week period of induction prednisolone therapy and had no recurring symptoms under maintenance therapy of 5 mg prednisolone during the 3-year follow up. Conclusions This was a rare case that demonstrated an association between IgG4 associated AIH and the presence of peripheral blood eosinophilia.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract