Considering increased mouse stomach mass when calculating prophylactic vaccine efficacy against Helicobacter pylori

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Calculating the level of protection follow vaccination against Helicobacter pylori in mice is conventionally performed based on stomach mass. However, prophylactic vaccination is associated with a post-immunisation gastritis which results in considerable thickening of the gastric mucosa. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Here, an analysis of nine experiments demonstrates that this post-immunisation gastritis can actually induce a significant increase in stomach mass. To determine whether this mass increase impacts upon the perceived level of protection, calculations were performed comparing colony-forming units (CFU) either per gram of tissue or per whole stomach. A trend was apparent tow..