Invasive Helicobocter-like organisms in feline gastric mucosa

Background. Helicobacter-like organisms (HLOs) usually are present in the stomachs of cats. Although the histopathology of natural (H. felis or H. heilmannii) infections has been reported, their invasion into the lymphoid aggregates has not been described previously. Materials and Methods. Gastric tissues were obtained from 17 adult cats living in a natural urban environment. Biopsy sites were selected by the presence of urease on the mucosal surface stained by Genta stain and periodic acid-Schiff stain. Results. Spiral organisms morphologically similar to H. felis or to H. heilmanmi were detected in all the cats, distributed predominantly over the oxyntic mucosa. Seven cats had prominent lymphoid follicles with germinal centers within the oxyntic mucosa, and in six of these seven cats, extracellular organisms were present within the lymphoid follicles. Scattered organisms also were found over sites of gastric metaplasia in the duodenum of six cats. Conclusions. This study extends previous observations by showing that HLO infection in cats is associated with large lymphoid follicles in the stomach. In additon, HLOs were demonstrated submucosally within gastric lymphoid follicles and on patches of gastric metaplasia in the duodenum.