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Relationship of Helicobacter pylori CagA(+) status to gastric juice vitamin C levels
Author(s) -
Theodore Rokkas,
Christos Liatsos,
Evangelia Petridou,
George Papatheodorou,
Andreas Karameris,
Ladas Sd,
Raptis Sa
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
european journal of clinical investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.164
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1365-2362
pISSN - 0014-2972
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2362.1999.00432.x
Subject(s) - caga , helicobacter pylori , gastroenterology , gastritis , medicine , spirillaceae , vitamin , vitamin c , biology , biochemistry , virulence , gene
Background To date it is not known whether gastric juice vitamin C levels are influenced by Helicobacter pylori CagA(+) strains. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to study the impact of H. pylori CagA status on gastric juice vitamin C levels. Materials and methods We studied 30 H. pylori (+) patients, and the results were compared with 10 endoscopically and histologically normal H. pylori (−) subjects (control group) who were similar to the H. pylori (+) group in terms of age and sex. In all patients, gastric juice vitamin C levels were determined and the severity of gastritis was graded on a scale of 0 (absent) to 3 (severe). CagA was determined by immunoblotting the sera from patients against H. pylori antigens. Results Among 30 H. pylori (+) patients, 20 were CagA(+) and 10 CagA(−). In the entire group of H. pylori (+) patients, the median gastric juice vitamin C levels (mg L −1 ) were 16.35 (range 3.5–33.6) and were significantly lower ( P < 0.001) than in the control group of H. pylori (−) patients [35.5 (23.1–50.2)]. In addition, in the entire group of H. pylori (+) patients there was a highly significant ( P < 0.0001) inverse correlation between the gastritis activity score and the gastric juice vitamin C levels. In the group of H. pylori CagA(+) patients, the median levels of gastric juice vitamin C were 13.8 (3.5–31.2) and were significantly lower than the corresponding levels in both the H. pylori CagA(−) group [24.8 (22–33.6), P < 0.01] and the H. pylori (−) control group [35.5 (23.1–50.2), P < 0.001], the last groups being similar. Furthermore, the gastritis activity median score in the H. pylori CagA(+) group [2 (1–3)] was significantly higher ( P < 0.05) than in the H. pylori CagA(−) group [1 (1–2)]. Conclusion These data indicate that infection with CagA(+) H. pylori strains significantly lowers the gastric juice vitamin C levels in comparison with CagA(−) H. pylori strains, which might have a significant impact on gastric carcinogenesis.