PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Xuan Weng AU - Suresh Neethirajan AU - Adam Vogt TI - Single cell chemotactic responses of <em>Helicobacter pylori</em> to urea in a microfluidic chip AID - 10.1101/045328 DP - 2016 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 045328 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/03/23/045328.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/03/23/045328.full AB - Helicobacter pylori is a spiral-shaped bacterium that grows in the human digestive tract; it infects ~50% of the global population. H. pylori induce inflammation, gastroenteritis, and ulcers, which is associated with significant morbidity and may be linked to stomach cancer in certain individuals. Motility is an essential virulence factor for H. pylori, allowing it to migrate toward and invade the epithelial lining of the stomach to shelter it from the harsh environment of the stomach. H. pylori senses pH gradients and use polar flagella to move towards the epithelium where the pH approaches neutrality. However, its chemotaxis behaviors are incompletely understood. Previous in vitro tests examining the response of H. pylori to chemical gradients have been subjected to substantial limitations. To more accurately mimic/modulate the cellular microenvironment, a nanoporous microfluidic device was used to monitor the real time chemotactic activity of single cell of H. pylori in response to urea. The results showed that microfluidic method is a promising alternative for precisely studying chemotactic behavior of bacteria.