Helicobacter pylori damages human gallbladder epithelial cells in vitro.

AIM: To study the mechanism by which Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) damages human gallbladder epithelial cells (HGBEC). METHODS: H pylori isolated from gallbladder were cultured in a liquid medium. Different concentration supernatants and sonicated extracts of H pylori cells were then added to HGBEC in a primary culture. The morphological changes in HGBEC as well as changes in the levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glutamyltransferase (GGT) were measured. RESULTS: According to the culture curve of HGBEC, it was convenient to study the changes in HGBEC by adding H pylori sonicated extracts and H pylori culture supernatants. Both H pylori sonicated extracts and H pylori culture supernatants had a significant influence on HGBEC morphology, i.e. HGBEC grew more slowly, their viability decreased and their detachment increased. Furthermore, HGBEC ruptured and died. The levels of ALP (33.84+/-6.00 vs 27.01+/-4.67, P<0.05), LDH (168.37+/-20.84 vs 55.51+/-17.17, P<0.01) and GGT (42.01+/-6.18 vs 25.34+/-4.33, P<0.01) significantly increased in the HGBEC culture supernatant in a time- and concentration-dependent. The damage to HGBEC in H pylori culture liquid was more significant than that in H pylori sonicated extracts. CONCLUSION: H pylori induces no obvious damage to HGBEC.