Korean J Infect Dis.  1997 Sep;29(5):371-376.

Detection of Helicobacter pylori by Polymerase Chain Reaction

• Choi TY
• Kang JO
• Park KN
• Seo YH

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori has been implicated in the pathogenesis of active chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer disease in man. Thus, diagnosis and treatment of H. pylori infection are now of growing importance in ulcer management. A variety of non-invasive and invasive methods have been described for the detection of H. pvlori, but all of these techniques have disadvantages such as time consuming or insensitivity. So we describe the polymerase chain reaction(PCR) assay for the sensitive and specific detection of H. pylori.
METHODS
Gastric biopsy specimens were obtained from 247 patients undergoing endoscopic examinations at Hanyang University Hospital. One half of the specimen was processed for routine culture and the other half for PCR. Bacterial genomic DNA from gastric biopsies was extracted by Instagene. Two sets of primer pairs derived from the nucleotide sequence of the urease A gene of H. pylori were used. RESULT: H. pylori was cultured in 100(40%) cases and PCR assay detected 179 (72%) cases (P<0.05, Chi-square test). Culture and PCR-positive cases totaled 100, and there were 68 cases negative by both methods. There were 79 culture-negative and PCR-positive cases, but none was culture-positive and PCR-negative. The assay was sensitive for detecting as little as 0.1 pg of DNA (1 bacterial cell). The specificity of detection was confirmed by ensuring that the primers did not amplify DNA extract from other bacteria.
CONCLUSION
The PCR is a rapid, accurate, and sensitive method for the detection of H. pylori.

Keyword

Helicobacter pylori; Culture; Polymerase chain reaction

MeSH Terms

Bacteria
Base Sequence
Biopsy
Diagnosis
DNA
Gastritis
Genes, vif
Helicobacter pylori*
Helicobacter*
Humans
Peptic Ulcer
Polymerase Chain Reaction*
Sensitivity and Specificity
Ulcer
Urease
DNA
Urease