Simple animal model of Helicobacter pylori infection

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has become accepted as a human pathogen for the development of gastritis and gastroduodenal ulcer. To develop a simple rat model of chronic H. pylori infection, male Sprague-Dawley rats were pretreated with streptomycin suspended in tap water (5 mg/mL) for 3 d. The rats were inoculated by gavage at 1 mL/rat with H. pylori suspension (5 × 10⁸-5 × 10¹⁰ CFU/mL) twice daily at an interval of 4 h for three consecutive days. Two weeks after inoculation, rats were sacrificed and the stomachs were removed. Antral biopsies were performed for urease test and the stomachs were taken for histopathology. Successful H. pylori inoculation was defined as a positive urease test and histopathology. We reported a 69.8%-83.0% success rate for H. pylori infection using the urease test, and hematoxylin and eosin staining confirmed the results. Histopathological analysis detected bacteria along the mucous lining of the surface epithelium and crypt lumen and demonstrated mild to moderate gastric inflammation in successfully inoculated rats. We developed a simple rat model of chronic H. pylori infection for research into gastric microcirculatory changes and therapy with plant products.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; Rat model; Chronic infection

Core tip:Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) causes significant gastroduodenal diseases. Experimental animal models play an important role in helping us understand the pathogenesis and discovering new therapeutic strategies. Previous H. pylori-associated gastritis candidate animal models have included gnotobiotic piglets, non-human primates, pigs, dogs, cats, gerbils, and mice. Rat models of H. pylori infection use a difficult technique and take a long time to establish. In this study, we developed a simple model of H. pylori infection in rats for further research.