As shown in Fig. 7, caspase-3 activity was significantly higher (P < 0.05) after 24 h of infection in cagA+/vacA+/three ORFs+ strains infected AGS cells compared to the cells infected with cagA−/vacA−/three ORFs+ strains, followed by triple negative strains (cagA−/vacA−/three ORFs−). This evidence concerns the gene S100A8 and infection.