Characterization of multiple Helicobacter bizzozeronii isolates from a Finnish patient with severe dyspeptic symptoms and chronic active gastritis.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori is the primary cause of gastritis and peptic ulceration in humans. In a minority of patients with upper gastrointestinal symptoms, long tightly coiled spiral bacteria, provisionally named "Helicobacter heilmannii," are observed in gastric biopsies. These bacteria are extremely fastidious and only one previous study has succeeded in obtaining an isolate in vitro.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used two different selective media to isolate "H. heilmannii" from the gastric mucosa of a Finnish patient presenting with severe dyspeptic symptoms. The isolates were characterized by testing for urease and catalase activity, by using light and electron microscopy, and by sequencing of the partial 16S rRNA and ureAB genes. Single-enzyme amplified fragment length polymorphism (sAFLP) was used to analyze the genetic diversity among the isolates.

RESULTS: We obtained 15 isolates from different gastric biopsies prior and three after unsuccessful treatment of the patient. The isolates were identified as Helicobacter bizzozeronii. Eradication therapy was unsuccessful most probably due to high level of resistance to metronidazole. Persistent colonization by the same H. bizzozeronii clone was confirmed by sAFLP, however, small differences between the profiles suggested long-term colonization of the patient.

CONCLUSIONS: Helicobacter bizzozeronii remains the only "H. heilmannii" species isolated from human gastric mucosa although it has been an infrequent observation among "H. heilmannii"-infected patients in PCR-based screening studies. The relevance of H. bizzozeronii and other potentially zoonotic gastric Helicobacter spp. in human disease remains to be determined.