BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that acid-suppressive therapy increases the severity ofHelicobacter pylori- associated gastritis in the corpus.PURPOSE: To evaluate interleukin (IL)-8 production in the gastric corpus mucosa before and during acid-suppressive therapy inH pylori-infected patients.PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ten patients with reflux esophagitis (fiveH pylori-positive and fiveH pylori-negative) were treated with omeprazole 20 mg. Serum gastrin concentrations,H pyloricolonization density and mucosal IL-8 levels in the corpus were investigated at entry and two weeks after starting therapy. IL-8 levels were measured by ELISA. The organism density was determined, and scored according to area occupied by the bacterial colonies. The presence ofH pyloriwas assessed by rapid urease testing and histological finding of gastric biopsy specimens.RESULTS: InH pylori-positive patients, concentrations of IL-8 during therapy significantly exceeded those before therapy (36.2±6.8 versus 18.3±3.8 pg/mg protein; P<0.05) without alteringH pyloridensity. InH pylori-negative patients, IL-8 levels were similar before and during therapy (6.1±2.7 versus 6.3±3.0 pg/mg protein). Concentrations of gastrin during therapy were significantly higher than those before therapy in all patients.CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that acid suppression increases mucosal IL-8 levels inH pylori-infected patients with reflux esophagitis.
Upfront Special Staining for Helicobacter pylori in Gastric Biopsy Specimens Is Not Indicated
