High prevalence of Helicobacter Species detected in laboratory mouse strains by multiplex PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and pyrosequencing.

Rodent models have been developed to study the pathogenesis of diseases caused by Helicobacter pylori, as well as by other gastric and intestinal Helicobacter spp., but some murine enteric Helicobacter spp. cause hepatobiliary and intestinal tract diseases in specific inbred strains of laboratory mice. To identify these murine Helicobacter spp., we developed an assay based on PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and pyrosequencing. Nine strains of mice, maintained in four conventional laboratory animal houses, were assessed for Helicobacter sp. carriage. Tissue samples from the liver, stomach, and small intestine, as well as feces and blood, were collected; and all specimens (n = 210) were screened by a Helicobacter genus-specific PCR. Positive samples were identified to the species level by multiplex denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, pyrosequencing, and a H. ganmani-specific PCR assay. Histologic examination of 30 tissue samples from 18 animals was performed. All mice of eight of the nine strains tested were Helicobacter genus positive; H. bilis, H. hepaticus, H. typhlonius, H. ganmani, H. rodentium, and a Helicobacter sp. flexispira-like organism were identified. Helicobacter DNA was common in fecal (86%) and gastric tissue (55%) specimens, whereas samples of liver tissue (21%), small intestine tissue (17%), and blood (14%) were less commonly positive. Several mouse strains were colonized with more than one Helicobacter spp. Most tissue specimens analyzed showed no signs of inflammation; however, in one strain of mice, hepatitis was diagnosed in livers positive for H. hepaticus, and in another strain, gastric colonization by H. typhlonius was associated with gastritis. The diagnostic setup developed was efficient at identifying most murine Helicobacter spp.