title: Neonatal thymectomy favors Helicobacter pylori-promoted gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma lesions in BALB/c mice.
abstract: Neonatal thymectomy in BALB/c mice has been described as a model of gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma (GML). By using this experimental system, we screened, for the first time to our knowledge, Helicobacter pylori GML-associated strains for their capacity to promote disease. A cohort of BALB/c mice underwent thymectomy at day 3 after birth (d3Tx). Successful thymic ablation was evaluated by the degree of lymphopenia in blood samples collected at 4 weeks of age. d3Tx and non-thymectomized controls were infected with either GML strains (B38 or B47) or control strains (SS1 or TN2GF4). Gastric samples collected at 6, 12, and 18 months after infection were studied for bacteria content, and submitted to histological, immunochemical, molecular, and immunological analyses. Severe gastric inflammation was only observed in d3Tx mice. In these animals, the gastric lamina propria was infiltrated with lymphoid cells organized in follicles composed of B cells with few infiltrating T cells. PCR of D/J IgH gene segments proved the monoclonality of infiltrating B cells, which strongly correlated with the presence of lymphoepithelial lesions. B-cell infiltrates were particularly prominent in mice infected with the B47-GML strain. No pathological changes were detected in noninfected d3Tx mice. We identified new H. pylori isolates adapted to the mouse stomach with high potential of GML development, which is only revealed in hosts rendered lymphopenic by neonatal thymic ablation.
authors.affiliation: Bacteriology Laboratory, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; INSERM U853, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chrisment
authors.affiliation: EA 2406, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dubus
authors.affiliation: Bacteriology Laboratory, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; INSERM U853, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chambonnier
authors.affiliation: Bacteriology Laboratory, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; INSERM U853, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Anaïs
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hocès de la Guardia
authors.affiliation: Bacteriology Laboratory, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; INSERM U853, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Elodie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sifré
authors.affiliation: EA 2406, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Alban
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giese
authors.affiliation: National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) UMR 5164 Innate Components of the Immune Response and Differentiation (CIRID), University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Myriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Capone
authors.affiliation: National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) UMR 5164 Innate Components of the Immune Response and Differentiation (CIRID), University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Khairallah
authors.affiliation: Animalerie Spécialisée, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Costet
authors.affiliation: Animalerie A2, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rousseau
authors.affiliation: Functional Genomics Center, the Genome Transcription Platform, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hubert
authors.affiliation: Lymphopoesis Unit, INSERM U668, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Odile
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Burlen-Defranoux
authors.affiliation: Bacteriology Laboratory, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; INSERM U853, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Varon
authors.affiliation: Lymphopoesis Unit, INSERM U668, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bandeira
authors.affiliation: Bacteriology Laboratory, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; INSERM U853, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mégraud
authors.affiliation: Bacteriology Laboratory, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; INSERM U853, Bordeaux, France. Electronic address: philippe.lehours@u-bordeaux2.fr.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lehours
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D018442:Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D013934:Thymectomy