Research article

Helicobacter pylori genotypes identified in gastric biopsy specimens from Jordanian patients

Laila F Nimri¹ , Ismail Matalka² , Kamal E Bani-Hani³ and Marwa Ibrahim¹

¹Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid, Jordan

²Pathology and Microbiology Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid, Jordan

³Surgery, Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid, Jordan

author email corresponding author email

BMC Gastroenterology 2006, 6:27doi:10.1186/1471-230X-6-27

Published:	4 October 2006

Abstract

Background

The genetic diversity of Helicobacter pylori can be analyzed at two different levels: the genomic variation between strains originating from different individuals, and the variation in bacterial populations within an individual host. We reported for the first time the H. pylori genotypes in Jordanian patients with gastrointestinal diseases.

Methods

Upper endoscopy was performed on 250 patients with symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases. Multiple gastric biopsy specimens were taken from the antrum. All the biopsies were tested by PCR for the H. pylori virulence genes vacA, cagA, and iceA, and 151 were tested by histology.

Results

The biopsies positive for H. pylori by PCR were 110/250 (44%), and by histology 117/151 (77.5%), and these results were highly associated (P < 0.02). Analyses of virulence genes revealed that iceA2 (73.6%) was the predominant genotype, the vacAs2 allele was more frequently identified than the vacAs1 allele, while the cagA genotype was low (26.4%). The presence of certain genotypes might be associated with each other, but the presence of certain genotypes was not significantly associated with the age, or gender of the patient.

Conclusion

The results illustrate the geographic nature of the genetic diversity of H. pylori, as the identified genotypes are similar to those reported in neighboring countries. This study provides a baseline data of H. pylori genotypes identified in gastric biopsy specimens from Jordan, serving as a powerful epidemiological tool for prospective investigations to better understand the genetic diversity of this pathogen.