''Helicobacter bilis'' is a
bacterium
Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the ...
in the
Helicobacteraceae
The Campylobacterales are an order of Campylobacterota which make up the epsilon subdivision, together with the small family Nautiliaceae. They are Gram-negative. Most of the species are microaerophilic.Garrity, George M.; Brenner, Don J.; Krieg ...
family,
Campylobacterales
The Campylobacterales are an order of Campylobacterota which make up the epsilon subdivision, together with the small family Nautiliaceae. They are Gram-negative. Most of the species are microaerophilic.Garrity, George M.; Brenner, Don J.; Kri ...
order.
It is a
fusiform
Fusiform (from Latin ''fusus'' ‘spindle’) means having a spindle (textiles), spindle-like shape that is wide in the middle and tapers at both ends. It is similar to the lemon (geometry), lemon-shape, but often implies a focal broadening of a ...
bacterium with three to 14 multiple bipolar sheathed
flagella
A flagellum (; : flagella) (Latin for 'whip' or 'scourge') is a hair-like appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, from fungal spores ( zoospores), and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many pr ...
and periplasmic fibers wrapped around the cell. It is
resistant to
cephalothin
Cefalotin (INN) or cephalothin ( USAN) is a first-generation cephalosporin antibiotic with broad spectrum antibiotic activity. It was the first cephalosporin marketed (1964) and continues to be widely used. Cefalotin is used for bacterial infe ...
and
nalidixic acid
Nalidixic acid (tradenames Nevigramon, NegGram, Wintomylon and WIN 18,320) is the first of the synthetic quinolone antibiotics.
In a technical sense, it is a naphthyridone, not a quinolone: its ring structure is a 1,8-naphthyridine nucleus that ...
, but sensitive to
metronidazole
Metronidazole, sold under the brand name Flagyl and Metrogyl among others, is an antibiotic and antiprotozoal medication. It is used either alone or with other antibiotics to treat pelvic inflammatory disease, endocarditis, and bacterial vagino ...
. Like ''
Helicobacter hepaticus'', it colonizes the
bile
Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), also known as gall, is a yellow-green/misty green fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is primarily composed of water, is pro ...
, liver, and intestine of mice, and is associated with multifocal chronic
hepatitis
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...
and
hepatocellular tumors.
This strain was originally isolated from a 47-year-old man with a one-month history of diarrhea, fever, and lower abdominal pain, and designated ''Flexispira rappini''
Romero et al. 1988. Hänninen et al. (2005) proposed to include this taxon in the species ''Helicobacter bilis'', although based on 16S rRNA gene sequence, it is one of 10 distinct groups, which has been called ''Helicobacter'' sp. ''flexispira'' taxon 8 (provisionally ''Helicobacter rappini'')
ewhirst et al. 2000 ''H. rappini'' has also been isolated from the feces of healthy people, dogs, and mice, as well as from patients with bacteremia. ''H. bilis'' and the other taxa include isolates from a wide range of host species, and have been associated with diarrhea, hepatitis, cholangitis, gallstones, liver cancer, and ovine abortion.
References
Further reading
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External links
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Type strain of ''Helicobacter bilis'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Campylobacterota
Bacteria described in 1995
{{Campylobacterota-stub