Lay Summary

Proposal No. IBD-0178
Principal Investigator:  Georgina L. Hold, Ph.D.
Applicant Organization:  University of Aberdeen (United Kingdom)
Project Title:  Assessment of non-pylori Helicobacter species in ulcerative colitis
Period of Award:  July 1, 2006 –  October 31, 2010

We hypothesize that non-pylori Helicobacter species may play a role in UC. However, the role of non-pylori Helicobacter infection in human UC remains controversial. This is largely due to methodological differences and a lack of clear definition of disease classification. Furthermore, no studies have investigated human tissue obtained at first presentation before any therapy has been instituted.

In order to test our hypothesis, we developed a scientific test that allowed us to detect non-pylori Helicobacter in archival paraffin colonic tissue. The presence of non-pylori Helicobacter was detected in 31% of UC subjects in comparison to 22.5% of healthy controls.

The aim of our research proposal is to characterize further the non-pylori Helicobacter species present in UC patients and to determine their mode of interaction. In order to do this it is imperative that a serious attempt is now made to grow these Helicobacter from colonic tissue obtained from UC patients. This is necessary in order to verify or refute our hypothesis that non-pylori Helicobacter species may play a role in UC.

Our goals are: 1) to collect tissue biopsies from a group of subjects with active UC; 2) to confirm the presence of Helicobacter in tissue biopsies using well-defined methods for the detection of Helicobacter; and 3) to attempt to culture Helicobacter from biopsies that are shown using the previous methods to be Helicobacter positive.

It is hoped that our results will aid in the development of larger studies that could have an impact on the understanding of IBD and its future therapeutic management.