Journal of Immunological Methods 242 (2000) 67–78
www.elsevier.nl/locate/jim
Quantitative analysis of Helicobacter pylori infection in a
mouse model
aa be
Lesley E. Smythies , Jo-Anne Chen , J. Russell Lindsey , Paolo Ghiara ,
d, c
*
Phillip D. Smith , Ken B. Waites
a
Department of Medicine
,
University of Alabama at Birmingham
,
Birmingham
,
AL
,
USA
b
Department of Comparative Medicine
,
University of Alabama at Birmingham
,
Birmingham
,
AL
,
USA
c
Department of Pathology
,
University of Alabama at Birmingham
,
Birmingham
,
AL
,
USA
d
VA Medical Center
,
Birmingham
,
AL
35294,
USA
e
Immunobiological Research Institute Siena
,
Chiron Biocine SpA
,
Siena
,
Italy
Received 3 February 2000; received in revised form 1 May 2000; accepted 2 May 2000
Abstract
Progress in elucidating the pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori gastric infection and in developing an H
.
pylori vaccine
will be aided by an animal model in which H
.
pylori can be reliably detected. To validate the use of the mouse model of H
.
pylori infection, we determined the susceptibility of three inbred strains of mice (C57BL/6J, C57BL/10J and BALB/c) to
two VacA1/CagA1 isolates of H
.
pylori (SPM326 and M1.16) and determined the effectiveness of microbiological,
histological and molecular assays for H
.
pylori detection. For the detection of H
.
pylori in inoculated mice, reverse
transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was the most sensitive assay (82%), histological evaluation the next most sensitive
(66%) and microbiological evaluation the least sensitive (38%); the assays were equally specific (100%). Of the two H
.
pylori isolates, M1.16 showed the highest rate of colonization, but SPM326 displayed the highest rate of persistent infection.
Among the three mouse strains, C57BL/6J mice showed the highest level of both susceptibility to colonization and
persistent infection. Anti-H
.
pylori antibody responses were induced in all inoculated mice and persisted for up to 8 weeks
after H
.
pylori clearance. These results indicate that inbred mice experimentally infected with H
.
pylori is a reliable model
for human infection, but host susceptibility to colonization and persistence of infection are dependent on the H
.
pylori isolate
and the mouse strain. 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords
:
Helicobacter pylori; Mouse model; T helper; Mucosa; Immunology
1. Introduction
Helicobacter pylori is the most common cause of
Abbreviations: RT-PCR, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain
chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer disease in humans
reaction; Th, T helper; Abs, antibodies; IFN-g, interferon-g
(Figura et al., 1989; Atherton et al., 1995) and is a
*Corresponding author. University of Alabama at Birmingham,
risk factor for gastric adenocarcinoma and lymphoma
Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, ZRB 633, 1530 3rd
(Blaser et al., 1995; Hansson et al., 1996; Parsonnet
Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA. Tel.: 11-205-9346-
060; fax: 11-205-9348-493.
et al., 1994). To study the pathogenesis of H
.
pylori
0022-1759/00/$ – see front matter 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S0022-1759(00)00215-5