Immune Responses to Bile-Tolerant Helicobacter Species in Patients with Chronic Liver Diseases, a Randomized Population Group, and Healthy Blood Donors

Abstract

Bile-tolerant Helicobacter species such as Helicobacter pullorum, Helicobacter bilis, and Helicobacter hepaticus are associated with hepatic disorders in animals and may be involved in the pathogenesis of chronic liver diseases (CLD) in humans. Antibody responses to cell surface proteins of H. pullorum, H. bilis, and H. hepaticus in serum samples from patients with CLD, a randomized population group, and healthy blood donors were evaluated by using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results were compared with the antibody responses to Helicobacter pylori. For analysis of a possible cross-reactivity between bile-tolerant Helicobacter species and H. pylori, sera from a subpopulation of each group were absorbed with a whole-cell extract of H. pylori and retested by ELISA. Results before absorption showed that the mean value of the ELISA units for H. pullorum was significantly higher in patients with CLD than in healthy blood donors (P = 0.01). Antibody reactivity to cell surface protein of H. hepaticus was also significantly higher in the CLD patients than in the healthy blood donors and the population group (P = 0.005 and P = 0.002, respectively). Following the absorption, antibody responses to H. pullorum decreased significantly in all three groups (P = 0.0001 for CLD patients, P = 0.0005 for the population group, and P < 0.0001 for the blood donors), indicating that cross-reactivity between H. pylori and other Helicobacter spp. occurs. The antibody responses to H. hepaticus and H. bilis in CLD patients remained high following absorption experiments compared to ELISA results before absorption. The significance of this finding requires further investigations.

Cross-Reactivity between Immune Responses to Helicobacter bilis and Helicobacter pylori in a Population in Thailand at High Risk of Developing Cholangiocarcinoma

“…Cross-reactivity between bile-tolerant species and H. pylori has been documented previously (1). Several aspects of the study design limit the interpretation of the results: the two laboratories used different strains of H. pylori, with none originating from the Thai population investigated.…”

In Vitro and In Vivo Characterization of Helicobacter hepaticus Cytolethal Distending Toxin Mutants

“…In addition, a subset of EHS also cause persistent infections associated with chronic inflammation and neoplasia, which is analogous to the association between H. pylori infection and subsequent chronic gastritis and gastric cancer (3). There is growing evidence that EHS can be associated with chronic liver diseases in humans, including chronic hepatitis, liver carcinoma, chronic cholecystitis, and cholangiocarcinoma (1,2,12,22,23).…”

Differential Detection of Five Mouse-Infecting Helicobacter Species by Multiplex PCR

“…Although there is growing evidence that different murine helicobacters may be associated with human infection and disease, including H. bilis and H. hepaticus (1,8,17,18,20), other murine helicobacter species have yet to be incriminated as potential zoonotic agents. Mouse helicobacter infections are particularly insidious, as they seldom produce clinical signs or lesions in immunocompetent mice.…”

“…In a recent study, 4 of 14 biliary tract cancer patients tested positive for H. bilis DNA by PCR (18). In addition to PCR, serologic studies have shown that human patients with chronic liver diseases, including autoimmune liver disease, developed antibodies to H. bilis and H. hepaticus (1,20).…”