Genetic Diversity of Helicobacter pylori Isolates from Patients with Gastric Diseases in Isfahan

Jina Vazirzadeh; Vajihe Karbasizadeh; Jamal Falahi; Sharareh Moghim; Tahmineh Narimani; Rahmatollah Rafiei

doi:10.4103/abr.abr_25_21

Genetic Diversity of Helicobacter pylori Isolates from Patients with Gastric Diseases in Isfahan

Adv Biomed Res. 2022 Jan 31:11:4. doi: 10.4103/abr.abr_25_21. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jina Vazirzadeh¹, Vajihe Karbasizadeh¹, Jamal Falahi², Sharareh Moghim¹, Tahmineh Narimani¹, Rahmatollah Rafiei³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
³ Health Clinical Sciences Research Center, Zahedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zahedan, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a spiral-shaped bacterium colonizing the human stomach, is generally acquired in childhood. This pathogen is highly diverse and can be used as genetic markers for predict the history of human migrations. This study aimed to determine the genetic diversity of H. pylori isolates from patients with dyspepsia by the multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and update data on the prevalence of H. pylori among Iranian dyspeptic patients.

Materials and methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 165 gastric biopsy specimens were obtained from patients with dyspepsia referred to Dr. Shariati Hospital of Isfahan, Iran, from April to July 2018. The status of H. pylori infection was determined by FISH in paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens. MLST of seven housekeeping genes was performed for 20 H. pylori isolates. The phylogenetic tree was plotted using CLC v8 and iTol software.

Results: The overall prevalence of H. pylori infection was 53.3%. In the results of the analysis of MLST, a total of 14 new STs were recorded. The results of the global analysis showed that all the isolates, with a wide diversity, have a genetic affinity with members of the European population, such as Italy and Russia, and are in the hpEurope haplotype.

Conclusion: Given the high prevalence of H. pylori infection in this region, early and accurate identification of patients seems necessary. Sequence analysis and determination of the origin of the phylogeny of strains can be effective in clinical management and monitoring of risk factors for chronic and recurrence of infection.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; multilocus sequence typing; prevalence.