ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1618803
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Gut Microbiome's Role in Gastric Cancer: Mechanisms and TherapiesView all 7 articles
Characteristics of Gastric Fluid Microbiota in Patients with Refractory Helicobacter pylori Infection
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Gastroenterology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China
- 2Clinical Research Institute of China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China
- 3State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering (CAS), Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
- 4Key Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Preparation and Delivery, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Introduction: Refractory Helicobacter pylori infection (RHPI) poses a clinical challenge due to its treatment resistance. The gastric microbiota characteristics in patients with RHPI remain unclear.This study analyzed gastric fluid samples to explore the structural and functional differences in the gastric microbiota of patients with RHPI and their association with clinicopathological features, providing a theoretical basis for precision treatment of RHPI. Methods: Eighty-four patients who underwent gastroscopy were prospectively and consecutively divided into the Nhp (H. pylorinegative, n=32), Php (H. pylori-positive at first diagnosis without treatment, n=32), and Rhp (RHPI, n=20) groups. Gastric fluid and mucosal biopsy samples were collected for 16S rRNA gene sequencing, pathological evaluation, and bioinformatic analysis. Differences in gastric microbiota and clinical data were compared among the three groups. Results: The Rhp group exhibited more gastric mucosal atrophy, inflammation, and inflammatory activity than Nhp and Php groups. Rhp also showed lower microbial richness and diversity. β-diversity analysis revealed distinct microbial communities between the Nhp and Php/Rhp groups. Rhp was enriched with H. pylori PZ5004 and Pseudoalteromonas sp. C_8, among others, while Php was enriched with Lactobacillus sp. CY1 and other species and Nhp with Prevotella melaninogenica and other species. The Rhp group also had higher H. pylori PZ5004/P79 abundance, more complex microbial interactions, and enriched sulfur relay pathways than the other groups. Conclusion: H. pylori infection disrupts the diversity, structure, and function of gastric microbiota. The close interaction between characteristic microbiota and H. pylori subspecies may be a key factor contributing to the difficulty in treating RHPI.
Keywords: refractory helicobacter pylori infection, gastric fluid microbiota, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, Microbial Diversity, sulfur relay pathways, Microbial Interactions
Received: 28 Apr 2025; Accepted: 09 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhu, Sun, Wang, Zhang, Du and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shiyu Du, Department of Gastroenterology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, 100029, China
Yanli Zhang, Department of Gastroenterology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, 100029, China
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