Helicobacter pylori antigen and its IgG, IgA -type specific immunocomplexes in sera from patients with Helicobacter pylori infection / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the characteristics of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) antigen in serum and to evaluate its clinical diagnostic value.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) was developed to detect the soluble H. pylori antigen (S-Hp) and circulatory specific H. pylori antigen immunocomplexes (Hp-IC) in serum.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The positive rate of S-Hp was 90.91% from 66 patients with H. pylori infection, which was much greater than 0% found in 28 controls (P < 0.001). Moreover, its concentration closely reflected the number of H. pylori in the gastric mucosa layer. We also found that Hp-IC existed bound with IgG and/or IgA in patients with positive S-Hp. However, there is no evidence to show the concentration of S-Hp reduced significantly in followed-up subjects after effective therapy.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>These methods as newly and noninvasive complementary tools can be used for clinical diagnosis of H. pylori infection. In addition, S-Hp and Hp-IC may be of importance in H. pylori pathogenesis.</p>