Bibliometric screening of Helicobacter pylori pathogenic genes through pathway enrichment and operon analysis

Background: Helicobacter pylori is one of the most common pathogenic bacteria that causes chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, and gastric cancer. It is very difficult to treat H. pylori bacterial infections, in part due to its polymorphisms. The objective of this study was to identify critical contributors to the pathogenicity of H. pylori bacteria through bibliometric screening of pathogenic genes. Methods: The pathogenic genes of H. pylori strain 26695 were collected from major publication databases using the bibliometric approach. Information about the pathways, operons, and functions of these genes was obtained from the KEGG and DOOR databases. Results: We inferred that HP0067, HP0069, HP1109, HP1036, and HP1037 are key pathogenic genes in H. pylori pathogenicity. These genes provided new targets for the clinical diagnosis and prognosis judgment of H. pylori. Conclusions: Finally, this study may serve as a model for other genomic level studies when more H. pylori genomes become available. These results lay a theoretical foundation for further studies on the detection of novel pathogenic genes and relevant clinical analyses.