FIG 1.

tlpD mutants have deficits in gland occupancy in WT mice but not in colonization of total tissue or individual glands. A comparison of colonization levels of WT mice by H. pylori GFP⁺ SS1 WT, tlpD mutant, and cheY mutant strains is shown. Mice were orally infected, and stomachs were collected and analyzed for tissue and gland colonization after 2 weeks of infection. (A) Numbers of CFU/g for corpus and antrum regions for mice infected with H. pylori GFP⁺ SS1 WT (n = 4), tlpD mutant (n = 4), and cheY mutant (n = 3) strains. Differences between groups were not statistically significant. (B) Gland loads in the isolated corpus and antral glands. These numbers are the average number of bacteria counted per gland, excluding uninfected glands. Numbers of infected glands were as follows: WT-infected corpus, 436 glands from six mice; WT-infected antrum, 508 glands from six mice; tlpD mutant-infected corpus, 67 glands from five mice; tlpD mutant-infected antrum, 48 glands from five mice; cheY mutant-infected corpus, 58 glands from four mice; cheY mutant-infected antrum, 24 glands from four mice. (C) Gland occupancy in the isolated corpus and antral glands, representing the percentage of glands infected with the indicated H. pylori strain. Error bars represent standard errors of the mean (SEM) for all panels. Numbers of mice infected are the same as described for gland loads. Statistical differences are indicated by * (P < 0.05) and ** (P < 0.01) as analyzed by Student's t test.