Identifying Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori, Hp) infection in animals before and after artificial infection influences the subsequent experiment. We established effective and noninvasive detection methods, including the gastric fluid nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and the 13C-urea breath test, which can detect Hp before modeling Hp infection in Mongolian gerbils. We designed a gas collection equipment for gerbils. Hp nested PCR was also performed on gastric fluid, gastric mucosa, duodenal contents, and faeces of gerbils challenged with Hp. Conventional Hp detection methods, including rapid urease assay and immunohistochemistry, were compared. Moreover, we assessed the natural infection of Hp in 135 gerbils that had never been exposed to Hp artificially from the major laboratory gerbil groups in China. In 10 Hp infected gerbils, the positive detection results were 100%, 100%, 90%, and 10% in gastric fluid, gastric mucosa, duodenal contents, and faeces with nested PCR, respectively. A rapid urease test performed on gastric mucosa showed that all animals were infected with Hp. Immunohistochemical detection and bacteria culture of gastric mucosa samples that were positive by the nested PCR method also confirmed the presence of Hp. 9% (3/35) and 6% (2/31) natural infection rates were found in conventional gerbil groups from the Capital Medical University and Zhejiang Laboratory Animal Center. In conclusion, we established two noninvasive Hp detection methods that can be performed before modelingHp infection, including the gastric fluid nested PCR method and the 13C-urea breath test.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.