Hydrogen Peroxide-Mediated Oxygen Enrichment Eradicates Helicobacter pylori <i>In Vitro</i> and <i>In Vivo</i>

Abstract

<i>Helicobacter pylori</i> is an important risk factor for gastric ulcers. However, antibacterial therapies increase the resistance rate and decrease the eradication rate of <i>H. pylori</i> Inspired by the microaerophilic characteristics of <i>H. pylori</i>, we aimed at effectively establishing an oxygen-enriched environment to eradicate and prevent the recurrence of <i>H. pylori</i> The effect and the mechanism of an oxygen-enriched environment in eradicating <i>H. pylori</i> and preventing the recurrence were explored <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> During oral administration and after drug withdrawal, <i>H. pylori</i> counts were evaluated by Giemsa staining in animal cohorts. An oxygen-enriched environment in which <i>H. pylori</i> could not survive was successfully established by adding hydrogen peroxide into several solutions and rabbit gastric juice. Hydrogen peroxide effectively killed <i>H. pylori</i> in Columbia blood agar and special peptone broth. Minimum inhibition concentrations and minimum bactericidal concentrations of hydrogen peroxide were both relatively stable after promotion of resistance for 30 generations, indicating that hydrogen peroxide did not easily promote resistance in <i>H. pylori</i> In models of Mongolian gerbils and Kunming mice, hydrogen peroxide has been shown to significantly eradicate and effectively prevent the recurrence of <i>H. pylori</i> without toxicity and damage to the gastric mucosa. The mechanism of hydrogen peroxide causing <i>H. pylori</i> death was related to the disruption of bacterial cell membranes. The oxygen-enriched environment achieved by hydrogen peroxide eradicates and prevents the recurrence of <i>H. pylori</i> by damaging bacterial cell membranes. Hydrogen peroxide thus provides an attractive candidate for anti-<i>H. pylori</i> treatment.