The role of Helicobacter spp. in the pathogenesis of primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis

Helicobacter species DNA has been detected in liver tissue of patients affected by primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). To investigate a potential causative relation between Helicobacter species and PBC/PSC, we compared the presence of Helicobacter species-specific DNA in liver tissue of patients with PBC/PSC (n = 18/n = 13) with those of a control group of patients with various liver diseases with known cause (n = 29). A PCR with Helicobacter genus-specific 16S rRNA primers was performed on DNA isolated from paraffin embedded liver tissue. Control patients had hepatitis-B (n = 9), alcoholic cirrhosis (n = 14), or non-cirrhotic metabolic liver disease (n = 6). There was no significant difference between the incidence of Helicobacter spp.-specific DNA in PBC/PSC (9/31; 29%) and the control group (10/29; 34%). Sequence analysis confirmed Helicobacter spp. DNA. Because Helicobacter spp. DNA can be found in approximately one-third of all samples tested, it is unlikely that PSC and PBC are caused by Helicobacter infection.