Ctkh. Stadtlander et Fj. Stutzenberger, ADAPTATION OF THE [C-13]UREA BREATH TEST AS A NONINVASIVE METHOD FOR DETECTION OF HELICOBACTER-PYLORI INFECTION IN SQUIRREL-MONKEYS (SAIMIRI SPP), Laboratory animal science, 45(3), 1995, pp. 239-243
The [C-13]urea breath test was adapted for use in squirrel monkeys (Sa
imiri spp.) for identification of experimentally induced infection wit
h Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium causing gastric ulcer in humans.
A canine anesthesia inhalation mask was modified with a volume-reducin
g insert allowing sufficient breath collection from these small primat
es within 30 sec. Fourteen milligrams of [C-13]urea per kilogram of bo
dy weight was adequate for clear distinction between experimentally in
fected and noninfected animals. Initial infection of five squirrel mon
keys resulted in increased (CO2)-C-13 in breath within 3 days after in
oculation with H. pylori. Additional inoculation with H. pylori superi
mposed on an existing gastric population caused a transient increase i
n breath (CO2)-C-13 values, which gradually declined over the followin
g 15 days. Breath test results indicating H. pylori infection were con
firmed by high [C-13] concentration in blood, by urease-positive cultu
re, modified Steiner stain reaction, and Western blot analysis. This m
odified [C-13]urea breath test provides a rapid, reproducible, noninva
sive method for screening small primates used as nonhuman models for t
he study of gastric infection with H. pylori.