Helicobacter pylori strain-specific modulation of gastric inflammation in Mongolian gerbils.
OBJECTIVE
The cag pathogenicity island (PAI) is one of potential virulence determinants of Helicobacter pylori. The Mongolian gerbil is a suitable experimental animal for the screening of virulence factors of H pylori.


METHODS
Five-week-old Mongolian gerbils were inoculated with a standard H pylori strain (ATCC 43504) possessing the cag PAI or a clinical isolate lacking the genes' cluster (OHPC-0002). The animals were killed at 2, 4, 8, 24 and 48 wk after inoculation (n = 5 each), and macroscopic and histopathological findings in the stomachs were compared.


RESULTS
In gerbils infected with ATCC 43504, a more severe degree of infiltration of polynuclear and mononuclear cells and lymphoid follicles was observed from 4 wk after inoculation compared to gerbils infected with OHPC-0002 especially in the antrum and transitional zone from the fundic to pyloric gland area. In addition, glandular atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, gastric ulcer and hyperplastic polyps were noted in gerbils infected with ATCC 43504, whereas only mild gastric erosions occurred in those infected with OHPC-0002.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that the cag PAI could be directly involved in gastric immune and inflammatory responses in the Mongolian gerbils, leading to a more advanced gastric disease.
Ohnita
Ken
K
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Japan.
Isomoto
Hajime
H
Honda
Shoji
S
Wada
Akihiro
A
Wen
Chun-Yang
CY
Nishi
Yoshito
Y
Mizuta
Yohei
Y
Hirayama
Toshiya
T
Kohno
Shigeru
S
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005756:Gastritis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D044404:Genomic Islands / Q000502:physiology; D005849:Gerbillinae; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D008297:Male; D013045:Species Specificity; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics
D037521:Virulence Factors