Papers

International journal
Mar 30, 2021

Isolation and characterization of Helicobacter suis from human stomach.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
  • Emiko Rimbara
  • Masato Suzuki
  • Hidenori Matsui
  • Masahiko Nakamura
  • Misako Morimoto
  • Chihiro Sasakawa
  • Hiroki Masuda
  • Sachiyo Nomura
  • Takako Osaki
  • Noriyo Nagata
  • Keigo Shibayama
  • Kengo Tokunaga
  • Display all

Volume
118
Number
13
Language
English
Publishing type
Research paper (scientific journal)
DOI
10.1073/pnas.2026337118

Helicobacter suis, a bacterial species naturally hosted by pigs, can colonize the human stomach in the context of gastric diseases such as gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Because H. suis has been successfully isolated from pigs, but not from humans, evidence linking human H. suis infection to gastric diseases has remained incomplete. In this study, we successfully in vitro cultured H. suis directly from human stomachs. Unlike Helicobacter pylori, the viability of H. suis decreases significantly on neutral pH; therefore, we achieved this using a low-pH medium for transport of gastric biopsies. Ultimately, we isolated H. suis from three patients with gastric diseases, including gastric MALT lymphoma. Successful eradication of H. suis yielded significant improvements in endoscopic and histopathological findings. Oral infection of mice with H. suis clinical isolates elicited gastric and systemic inflammatory responses; in addition, progression of gastric mucosal metaplasia was observed 4 mo postinfection. Because H. suis could be isolated from the stomachs of infected mice, our findings satisfied Koch's postulates. Although further prospective clinical studies are needed, H. suis, like H. pylori, is likely a gastric pathogen in humans. Furthermore, comparative genomic analysis of H. suis using complete genomes of clinical isolates revealed that the genome of each H. suis isolate contained highly plastic genomic regions encoding putative strain-specific virulence factors, including type IV secretion system-associated genes, and that H. suis isolates from humans and pigs were genetically very similar, suggesting possible pig-to-human transmission.

Link information
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2026337118
PubMed
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33753513
PubMed Central
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8020762
ID information
  • DOI : 10.1073/pnas.2026337118
  • Pubmed ID : 33753513
  • Pubmed Central ID : PMC8020762

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