Features of cytokine balance with the progression of structural changes in the gastric mucosa in patients with atrophic gastritis

Background. Until now, the issue of the correlation between the cytokine balance and the progression of structural changes in the gastric mucosa remain completely uncertain. At the same time, the determination of the role of cytokine ba­lance as a component of gastric carcinogenesis will make it possible to substantiate new approaches to managing patients with atrophic gastritis. The purpose was to assess the level of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) at the stages of progression of structural changes in the gastric mucosa of patients with atrophic gastritis. Materials and methods. The study included 79 individuals with atrophic gastritis who underwent narrow band imaging endoscopic examination. The patients were divided into groups taking into account the revealed structural changes in the gastric mucosa: group I — 7 people with gastric mucosal atrophy without intestinal metaplasia (IM); group II — 16 individuals with gastric mucosal atrophy with IM limited by the antrum; group III — 45 people with diffuse IM against the background of gastric mucosal atrophy; group IV — 10 individuals with gastric mucosal dysplasia. In all patients, we assessed the level of interleukins (IL-8, IL-10, IL-18), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), VEGF. Results. In patients of group IV, the concentration of IL-8 in the blood serum was 18.6 (11.3; 23.9) pg/ml that was significantly higher than in group I (by 5.0 times, p < 0.05), group II (by 3.6 times, p < 0.05) and group III (by 3.4 times, p < 0.05). According to the results of the Kruskal-Wallis test, the probability of a difference in the IL-8 level between the groups was 0.0260. The level of VEGF in the blood serum of patients with gastric mucosal dysplasia was significantly increased compared to that in people with gastric mucosal atrophy without IM (by 1.8 times, p < 0.05) and those with gastric mucosal atrophy with IM (by 1.7 times, p < 0.05). Changes in the cytokine balance towards proinflammatory cytokines were most pronounced in patients of groups III and IV; according to the results of the Kruskal-Wallis test, the probability of a difference in the IL-8/IL-10 ratio between the groups was 0.0207. Conclusions. With the progression of structural changes in the gastric mucosa of patients with atrophic gastritis, an increase in the level of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-8, IL-18 and TNF-α) in the blood serum does not induce the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10). According to the results of the ROC analysis, the diagnostic criteria for the formation of the risk group for detecting dysplastic changes in the gastric mucosa are VEGF level of more than 341.4 mU/ml (sensitivity — 90.0 %, specificity — 77.2 %) and the level of IL-8 above 14.4 pg/ml (sensitivity — 80.0 %, specificity — 78.3 %).

Efficacy of Texture and Color Enhancement Imaging in visualizing gastric mucosal atrophy and gastric neoplasms

In 2020, Olympus Medical Systems Corporation introduced the Texture and Color Enhancement Imaging (TXI) as a new image-enhanced endoscopy. This study aimed to evaluate the visibility of neoplasms and mucosal atrophy in the upper gastrointestinal tract through TXI. We evaluated 72 and 60 images of 12 gastric neoplasms and 20 gastric atrophic/nonatrophic mucosa, respectively. The visibility of gastric mucosal atrophy and gastric neoplasm was assessed by six endoscopists using a previously reported visibility scale (1 = poor to 4 = excellent). Color differences between gastric mucosal atrophy and nonatrophic mucosa and between gastric neoplasm and adjacent areas were assessed using the International Commission on Illumination L*a*b* color space system. The visibility of mucosal atrophy and gastric neoplasm was significantly improved in TXI mode 1 compared with that in white-light imaging (WLI) (visibility score: 3.8 ± 0.5 vs. 2.8 ± 0.9, p < 0.01 for mucosal atrophy; visibility score: 2.8 ± 1.0 vs. 2.0 ± 0.9, p < 0.01 for gastric neoplasm). Regarding gastric atrophic and nonatrophic mucosae, TXI mode 1 had a significantly greater color difference than WLI (color differences: 14.2 ± 8.0 vs. 8.7 ± 4.2, respectively, p < 0.01). TXI may be a useful observation modality in the endoscopic screening of the upper gastrointestinal tract.

Estimation of the degree of gastric mucosal atrophy based on serum pepsinogen levels after eradication of Helicobacter pylori

Background Serum pepsinogen (PG) levels correlate with the degree of gastric mucosal inflammation and atrophy, which correlate with gastric cancer risk, in patients infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Serum PG levels change after eradication of H. pylori, but it is not known if there are corresponding changes in the gastric mucosa. We examined whether the degree of gastric atrophy correlated with PG levels measured after eradication of H. pylori. Methods We retrospectively examined the relationship between gastric atrophy and serum levels of PG I, PG II and PG I/II ratios measured after eradication of H. pylori. The degree of gastric mucosal atrophy before H. pylori eradication was scored (0, 1, 2) according to the Kyoto classification of gastritis. Results A total of 430 treated patients were enrolled. Serum levels of PG I (ρ = − 0.362 and P < 0.001), PG II (ρ = − 0.158 and P = 0.001) and PG I/II ratio (ρ = − 0.337 and P < 0.001) all correlated negatively with atrophy scores. When PG I/II was less than 3.4, 5.4 or 6.7, the probability of the open type of gastric atrophy was estimated to be 75%, 50%, or 25%, respectively. Conclusion Our results suggest that serum PG levels measured after H. pylori eradication can be used to estimate the degree of gastric mucosal atrophy and are useful for selecting individuals with a high risk of gastric cancer after H. pylori eradication.