ArticlePLoS biology2019
High-resolution mapping reveals that microniches in the gastric glands control Helicobacter pylori colonization of the stomach.
Article in PLoS biology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 106 citations in OpenAlex.
- Review
- Gastric Microbiota from Populations with High Risk of Gastric Cancer in Nariño, Colombia.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Effects of Helicobacter pylori infection on gastric mucosal microbiota.World journal of pediatrics : WJP · 2026Review
- In situ visualization of Clostridioides difficile phenotypic heterogeneity and single-cell morphology during gut infection.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Spatial immune archetypes in gastric and colorectal cancer: a proposed conceptual framework for immunotherapy resistance and therapeutic remodeling.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Helicobacter pylori infection and α-synuclein pathology drive parallel neurodegenerative pathways in the substantia nigra.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Article
- Ecology of the gut microbiota and colonization resistance: mechanisms and therapeutic implications.FEMS microbiology ecology · 2025Review
- Neonatal infection withInfection and immunity · 2025Article
- Gastric microbiota transplantation enhanced the eradication of refractoryMicrobiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Organ structure and bacterial microbiogeography in a reproductive organ of the Hawaiian bobtail squid reveal dimensions of a defensive symbiosis.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Genetic Basis of Gap Formation Between MigratingMicroorganisms · 2025Article
- Helicobacter pylori, microbiota and gastric cancer - principles of microorganism-driven carcinogenesis.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2025Review
- Accessible homeostatic gastric organoids reveal secondary cell type-specific host-pathogen interactions in Helicobacter pylori infections.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Article
- A conserved bacterial genetic basis for commensal-host specificity.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2024Article
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa breaches respiratory epithelia through goblet cell invasion in a microtissue model.Nature microbiology · 2024Article
- Review
- The importance of host physical niches for the stability of gut microbiome composition.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2024Review
- Visualization of metabolites and microbes at high spatial resolution using MALDI mass spectrometry imaging and in situ fluorescence labeling.Nature protocols · 2023Review
- A Bioresponsive Genetically Encoded Antimicrobial Crystal for the Oral Treatment of Helicobacter Pylori Infection.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2023Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Lifelong infection of the gastric mucosa by Helicobacter pylori can lead to peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. However, how the bacteria maintain chronic colonization in the face of constant mucus and epithelial cell turnover in the stomach is unclear. Here, we present a new model of how H. pylori establish and persist in stomach, which involves the colonization of a specialized microenvironment, or microniche, deep in the gastric glands. Using quantitative three-dimensional (3D) confocal microscopy and passive CLARITY technique (PACT), which renders tissues optically transparent, we analyzed intact stomachs from mice infected with a mixture of isogenic, fluorescent H. pylori strains with unprecedented spatial resolution. We discovered that a small number of bacterial founders initially establish colonies deep in the gastric glands and then expand to colonize adjacent glands, forming clonal population islands that persist over time. Gland-associated populations do not intermix with free-swimming bacteria in the surface mucus, and they compete for space and prevent newcomers from establishing in the stomach. Furthermore, bacterial mutants deficient in gland colonization are outcompeted by wild-type (WT) bacteria. Finally, we found that host factors such as the age at infection and T-cell responses control bacterial density within the glands. Collectively, our results demonstrate that microniches in the gastric glands house a persistent H. pylori reservoir, which we propose replenishes the more transient bacterial populations in the superficial mucosa.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.