Type I and type II Helicobacter pylori infection status and their impact on gastrin and pepsinogen level in a gastric cancer prevalent area

BACKGROUND

Type I Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection causes severe gastric inflammation and is a predisposing factor for gastric carcinogenesis. However, its infection status in stepwise gastric disease progression in this gastric cancer prevalent area has not been evaluated; it is also not known its impact on commonly used epidemiological gastric cancer risk markers such as gastrin-17 (G-17) and pepsinogens (PGs) during clinical practice.

AIM

To explore the prevalence of type I and type II H. pylori infection status and their impact on G-17 and PG levels in clinical practice.

METHODS

Thirty-five hundred and seventy-two hospital admitted patients with upper gastrointestinal symptoms were examined, and 523 patients were enrolled in this study. H. pylori infection was confirmed by both ¹³C-urea breath test and serological assay. Patients were divided into non-atrophic gastritis (NAG), non-atrophic gastritis with erosion (NAGE), chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG), peptic ulcers (PU) and gastric cancer (GC) groups. Their serological G-17, PG I and PG II values and PG I/PG II ratio were also measured.

RESULTS

A total H. pylori infection rate of 3572 examined patients was 75.9%, the infection rate of 523 enrolled patients was 76.9%, among which type I H. pylori infection accounted for 72.4% (291/402) and type II was 27.6%; 88.4% of GC patients were H. pylori positive, and 84.2% of them were type I infection, only 11.6% of GC patients were H. pylori negative. Infection rates of type I H. pylori in NAG, NAGE, CAG, PU and GC groups were 67.9%, 62.7%, 79.7%, 77.6% and 84.2%, respectively. H. pylori infection resulted in significantly higher G-17 and PG II values and decreased PG I/PG II ratio. Both types of H. pylori induced higher G-17 level, but type I strain infection resulted in an increased PG II level and decreased PG I/PG II ratio in NAG, NAGE and CAG groups over uninfected controls. Overall PG I levels showed no difference among all disease groups and in the presence or absence of H. pylori; in stratified analysis, its level was increased in GC and PU patients in H. pylori and type I H. pylori-positive groups.

CONCLUSION

Type I H. pylori infection is the major form of infection in this geographic region, and a very low percentage (11.6%) of GC patients are not infected by H. pylori. Both types of H. pylori induce an increase in G-17 level, while type I H. pylori is the major strain that affects PG I and PG IIs level and PG I/PG II ratio in stepwise chronic gastric disease. The data provide insights into H. pylori infection status and indicate the necessity and urgency for bacteria eradication and disease prevention in clinical practice.

Expression of transforming growth factor α and Cyclin E and their correlation in chronic gastric lesion tissues from patients with different TCM types

AIM: To explore the expression of transforming growth factor α (TGF-α) and Cyclin E in chronic gastric lesion tissues from patients with different types of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and analyze the correlation between TGF-α and Cyclin E expression.

METHODS: The patients (n = 135) with chronic gastric diseases were classified to 4 groups according to different TCM types such as disharmony between liver and stomach (group A), spleen-stomach cold deficiency (group B), stomach-yin deficiency (group C), and mixed cold and heat (group D). Immunohistochemical staining was used to examine the expression of TGF-α and Cyclin E in the lesion tissues and the correlation between TGF-α and Cyclin E expression was also ssessed.

RESULTS: The positive rates of TGF-α expression in the lesion tissues of group A, B, C and D were 25.0%, 18.6%, 47.1% and 42.1%, respectively, and there was significant difference between group B and C (P < 0.05). The positive rates of Cyclin E expression were 20.0%, 7.0%, 26.5% and 31.6%, respectively, and there was marked difference between group B and D (P < 0.05). Both TGF-α and Cyclin E expression were the lowest in group B, and there existed a positive correlation between the expression of TGF-α and Cyclin E.

CONCLUSION: TGF-α and Cyclin E are differentially expressed in chronic gastric lesion tissues of patients with different TCM types, and the expression of TGF-α and Cyclin E are positively correlated.