[An efficient method for quantification of Helicobacter pylori in biopsy specimen using PCR].
A procedure for the detection and quantification of Helicobacter pylori in gastrointestinal tissue biopsy specimens by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is presented. This method provides an accurate quantitative and sensitive measurement of the amount of H. pylori in the gastrointestinal tract without cultivation of this microorganism. We have used 30 cycles of PCR in the presence of 3.5mM Mg++ and demonstrated that the DNA content of one H. pylori cell is 0.0076pg. Using this approach, we analyzed samples of gastrointestinal tissue biopsies from 10 patients with various gastrointestinal disorder. Each of these patients had detectable H. pylori at levels ranging from 0.10 to 60.61 cells for each tissue cell. This new technique thus provides a useful way to detect H. pylori in gastrointestinal tissue biopsy specimens.