ABSTRACT
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of Helicobacter pylori on MLH1 and MGMT mRNA levels in patients with chronic gastritis and gastric cancer. The study included 217 patients, of which 26 were uninfected, 127 had chronic gastritis and were H. pylori-positive, and 64 had gastric cancer. Bacterial genotypes were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the expression levels of MLH1 and MGMT were determined by quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. There was an association between infection with cagA, vacA s1m1 strains and gastric cancer development. When the gastric epithelium and associated inflammation were examined for expression of MLH1 and MGMT, an overall increase in expression was observed. On the other hand, these levels decrease significantly among gastric cancer patients. The loss of MLH1 and MGMT expression in gastric cancer patients suggests that it is not an early event in H. pylori-associated gastric carcinogenesis.