Helicobacter Species Identified in Captive Sooty Mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) with Metastatic Gastric Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Background Of all human cancers, gastric carcinoma is the one of the leading causes of death. Helicobacter pylori is considered a major etiologic agent of this disease. Spontaneously occurring gastric carcinoma is a rare diagnosis in nonhuman primates. A 2011 case report documented a high incidence of gastric adenocarcinoma in a closed colony of captive sooty mangabeys (Cercebus atys). However, H. pylori infection was not detected in these animals. Materials and Methods In this study, using archived formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded stomach sections of these animals alternative methodologies were used to identify H. pylori and other non-H. pylori Helicobacter species. In addition, two additional cases of sooty mangabeys with metastatic gastric carcinoma are characterized. Results Using fluorescent in situ hybridization, we identified gastric H. suis in 75% of archived and new gastric carcinoma cases. In the two newly reported cases, H. suis and a novel Helicobacter species were detected via PCR and sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. H. pylori was not identified in any of the gastric carcinoma cases via FISH and/or PCR and sequence analysis of Helicobacter spp. in DNA from of available tissues. Conclusions This report is the first to characterize Helicobacter species infection in spontaneous gastric carcinoma with metastatic potential in nonhuman primates.

Other Helicobacters and gastric microbiota

“…Using fluorescent in situ hybridization with Helicobacter ‐specific 16S rRNA gene‐based probes followed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, H. suis was detected in 75% of sooty mangabeys suffering from gastric carcinoma. A putative new Helicobacter species , showing 95% homology with H. pullorum , was detected as well in two of these animals together with H. suis …”

“…A putative new Helicobacter species, showing 95% homology with H. pullorum, was detected as well in two of these animals together with H. suis. 5 In a recent phylogenetic study, the use of different genes was investigated to discriminate between different Helicobacter species.…”

Helicobacter pylori-induced gastric pathology: insights from in vivo and ex vivo models

“…More recently, a study identified a high incidence of gastric adenocarcinoma in a captive colony of sooty mangabeys ( Cercebus atys ) ( Sharma et al, 2011 ). This colony has subsequently been shown to be heavily colonized with H. suis by both fluorescence in situ hybridization and 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing ( Esmail et al, 2016 ). This is the first evidence of naturally occurring Helicobacter associated with gastric carcinogenesis in a non-human primate.…”

Adult‐onset, chronic, cyclic thrombocytopenia in a Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) after dengue virus vaccination and viral challenge

“…The 16S rRNA PCR and sequencing, using previously published 16S rRNA based primers, confirmed infection with Helicobacter suis . 5 Because H. pylori , the human gastric pathogen, has been linked to thrombocytopenia in select patients, the monkey was treated with a H. pylori eradication antibiotic therapy consisting of clarithromycin 15 mg/kg PO BID and amoxicillin 20 mg/kg PO BID for 10 days, and omeprazole 0.6 mg/kg PO SID for 21 days. 6 Antibiotic treatment for the H. suis infection did not resolve the coagulopathy and the episodes of petechiae +/− ecchymoses recurred.…”