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RecruitingNCT05121025PREDICTHPUpdated Dec 5, 2024

Pathogen-microbiome Interaction During Helicobacter Pylori Infection

An observational study in Helicobacter Pylori Infection, sponsored by University Hospital Freiburg. Recruiting at 1 site in Germany. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-12-05.

Sponsored by University Hospital Freiburg · Observational

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Jun 2025, 1 year 3 months ago, but the record still lists the study as recruiting.
  • Started Mar 2022; still recruiting 4 years 6 months later.
Study type
Observational
Model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
180
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Helicobacter pylori affects the gut microbiome in ways that are only partially understood. In which patients H. pylori causes severe disease and in whom it merely colonizes, possibly even with beneficial effects, is not understood. The investigators are pursuing the hypothesis that changes in the gut microbiome that can be easily measured in stool have such predictive value.

Read the detailed description

Helicobacter pylori colonizes the stomach of about half of the world's population, including about 20-30% of adults in Germany. In some cases, this colonization can lead to chronic inflammation of the gastric mucosa, which can lead to various serious diseases such as ulcer disease and gastric cancer. It has been reported several times in the literature that Helicobacter pylori infection negatively affects the human intestinal flora and can lead to microbial imbalance (dysbiosis). Recent studies, mostly from mouse models, reveal new roles and interactions of the microbiome: host immune response may influence bacterial activity; bacterial metabolites may determine microbiome functions. Differences in the microbiome were also found between Helicobacter pylori-infected patients and were associated with treatment success. On the other hand, beneficial microbial symbiosis may prevent intestinal inflammation. The reasons for these differences in the microbiome of Helicobacter pylori-infected patients, which may also contribute to treatment failure, remain to be investigated. Therefore, this project aims to investigate how Helicobacter pylori affects the bacteria and fungi of the human gastrointestinal microbiome and how the suspected microbial imbalance may influence treatment success. In this project, The investigators aim to answer the question of how these newly discovered mechanisms alter the course of human H. pylori infection. The investigators will analyze H. pylori itself in colonized patients and asymptomatic individuals (whole genome sequencing), determine the immune response of the carrier (RNA expression in lymphocytes), and composition of the gut microbiome (DNA sequencing) and activity (RNA expression in the bacteria/fungi and identification of metabolites). Using bioinformatics approaches, particularly machine learning, The investigators will determine the parameters that predict disease progression and eradication success. The results will provide important decision support for H. pylori-infected patients.

02

Conditions studied

  • Helicobacter Pylori Infection

Keywords

  • Helicobacter Pylori
  • Metagenomics
03

In context

Infections

6,687 studies on the registry are indexed under Infections; 807 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 180 is below the median of 240 across 2,136 observational studies indexed under Infections.

Browse Infections studies →

Lead sponsor

University Hospital Freiburg is the lead sponsor of 91 studies on the registry; 18 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Patients of full age who are capable of giving consent and from whom gastric biopsies, stool, and whole blood/serum will be obtained for diagnostic purposes (to exclude Helicobacter pylori infection), irrespective of the clinical picture. The indication for specimen collection is made by the treating clinical physician independent of the study. Patients should be informed about the study by the treating clinician concurrently with being informed about the risk of biopsy collection. Healthy volunteers will be invited to donate stool and blood for H. pylori diagnostics.

Inclusion criteria

Patients: -

  • Male and female patients aged ≥ 18 years.
  • Specimens from patients undergoing tissue sampling, stool, and blood to rule out Helicobacter pylori infection
  • Written informed consent from patients.

Volunteer subjects: -

  • Male and female (non-pregnant) volunteers between the ages of 18-65 years.
  • Written informed consent from volunteers.
  • No acute medical conditions
  • No regular medication use, and no antibiotic use in the last 4 weeks.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients: -

  • Minor patients
  • Patients not capable of giving consent
  • Samples without sufficient residual material after standard diagnostic procedures
  • Samples from patients who have not given consent for testing

Volunteer subjects: -

  • Subjects not capable of giving consent
  • Subjects with acute illnesses
  • Subjects older than 65 or younger than 18 years of age.
  • Pregnant women
05

Study design

Observational model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
180 participants (estimated)
Patient registry
No

Groups and cohorts

  • Helicobacter pylori patients

    Patients with gastric biposies which was positive for Helicobacter pylori in culture

    Diagnostic Test: Analysis of gut microbiome and immune signatures

  • Helicobacter pylori asymptomatic carriers

    Healthy controls who are positive for Helicobacter pylori antigen in stool and have no symptoms of gastritis

    Diagnostic Test: Analysis of gut microbiome and immune signatures

  • Healthy controls

    Healthy controls who are negative for Helicobacter pylori antigen in stool and have no symptoms of gastritis

    Diagnostic Test: Analysis of gut microbiome and immune signatures

Interventions

  • Diagnostic testAnalysis of gut microbiome and immune signatures

    The investigators will analyse the microbiome composition (16S rDNA-sequencing and metagenomics), microbiome activity (RNA-sequencing of stool bacteria and metabolite sampling) and immune cell activity (leukocyte RNA-sequencing) of all study groups.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Helicobacter pylori microbiome and immune signatures

    The diversity of the gut microbial species of patients and controls as well as transcriptomic signatures of blood immune cells will be assessed and compared to conclude specisifc signatures that are associated with the disease and carrier status. These signatures will be analyzed to identify specific bacterial and immune biomarkers that can be used as a screening tool for Helicobacter pylori infection.

    Time frame: 12-18 Months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Helicobacter pylori eradication control

    Patients with positive gastric biopsy for Helicobacter pylori will be assessed for successful eradication after treatment, and the eradication success will be compared with the patients' microbial signatures to identify specific gut microbial signatures that are associated with treatment outcome.

    Time frame: 12-24 Months

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Institute for Microbiology and Hygiene
    Freiburg, Baden Württemberg 79104, Germany
    • Mohamed Tarek Badr, MD · Contact
    Recruiting
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 5, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05121025
Lead sponsor
University Hospital Freiburg
Responsible party
Mohamed Tarek Badr (Principal Investigator, University Hospital Freiburg) — Principal investigator
First posted
Nov 16, 2021
Start date
Mar 11, 2022
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2025 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 30, 2025 (estimated)
Last update
Dec 5, 2024

Study contacts

Mohamed Tarek Badr, M.D.
Contact
mohamed.tarek.badr@uniklinik-freiburg.de
00497612036585
Anne Lichtenegger
Contact
anne.sophie.lichtenegger@uniklinik-freiburg.de
00497612036585

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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