Detection of Helicobacter species in chronic liver disease and chronic inflammatory bowel disease.
OBJECTIVE
To study the association between helicobacters and chronic liver diseases and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases.


METHODS
Thirty-two patients with various chronic liver diseases and 137 patients with inflammatory bowel disease were enrolled. Antibodies to H. pylori, H. hepaticus, H. bilis, and H. pullorum were measured by enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and sera positive in a non-pylori helicobacter EIA were further examined by immunoblot assay. Detection of Helicobacter DNA in liver biopsies was done by denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis of PCR products (PCR-DGGE) and DNA sequence analysis.


RESULTS
Six inflammatory bowel disease patients, four with ulcerative colitis and two with Crohn's disease, and one liver disease patient with autoimmune cholangitis had antibodies to non-pylori helicobacters by an immunoblot assay. Four immunoblot assay-negative patients, three with autoimmune and one with non-autoimmune liver disease, had Helicobacter DNA in liver biopsies; three of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products were closely related to non-pylori helicobacters.


CONCLUSIONS
Evidence for non-pylori helicobacters was scant in Finnish patients with inflammatory bowel disease or chronic but not end stage liver disease. We cannot, however, rule out their role in these diseases.
Veijola
Lea
L
Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, Haartman Institute, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. lea.veijola@helsinki.fi
Nilsson
Ingrid
I
Halme
Leena
L
Al-Soud
Waleed Abu
WA
Mäkinen
Judit
J
Ljungh
Asa
A
Rautelin
Hilpi
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D016998:Helicobacter / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009691:Nucleic Acid Denaturation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
D004269:DNA, Bacterial