Helicobacter pylori in dental plaque and stomach of patients from Northern Brazil

AIM: To establish whether virulence factor genes vacA and cagA are present in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) retrieved from gastric mucosa and dental plaque in pa-tients with dyspepsia. METHODS: Cumulative dental plaque specimens and gastric biopsies were submitted to histological exami-nation, rapid urease test and polymerase chain reac-tion (PCR) assays to detect the presence of cagA and vacA polymorphisms.RESULTS: Detection of H. pylori from dental plaque and gastric biopsy samples was greater by PCR com-pared to histological examination and the rapid ure-ase test. DNA from H. pylori was detected in 96% of gastric mucosa samples and in 72% of dental plaque samples. Sixty-three (89%) of 71 dental plaque sam-ples that were H. pylori-positive also exhibited identical vacA and cagA genotypes in gastric mucosa. The most common genotype was vacAs1bm1 and cagA positive, either in dental plaque or gastric mucosa. These viru-lent H. pylori isolates were involved in the severity of clinical outcome.CONCLUSION: These pathogenic strains were found simultaneously in dental plaque and gastric mucosa, which suggests that gastric infection is correlated with the presence of H. pylori in the mouth.

Interleukin-1 and TNF-α polymorphisms and Helicobacter pylori in a Brazilian Amazon population

AIM:To study the association between Interleukin-1(IL-1)and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-αpolymorphisms,infection by Helicobacter pylori(H pylori)and the development of gastrointestinal diseases.METHODS:Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of 177 patients with various gastrointestinal diseases and from 100 healthy volunteers.The polymorphisms in IL-1βand TNF-αgenes were analyzed using the polymerase chain reactionrestriction fragment length polymorphism method(PCRRFLP)and those from IL-1RN with PCR.The presence of infection due to H pylori and the presence of the CagA toxin were detected by serology.The histopathological parameters in the gastric biopsies of the patients were according to the Sydney classification.RESULTS:A comparison of the frequencies of the different polymorphisms studied among the patients and the control group demonstrated that the allele IL1RN*2 was more frequent among patients with gastric ulcers and adenocarcinoma.Carriers of the allele ILRN*2 and those with reactive serology for anti-CagA IgG had a greater risk of developing peptic ulcer and gastric adenocarcinoma,as well as a higher degree of inflammation and neutrophilic activity in the gastric mucosa.CONCLUSION:Our results indicate a positive association between IL-1RN gene polymorphism and infection by positive H pylori CagA strains and the development of gastric ulcers and adenocarcinoma.