1. Changes in the mucosal expression of interleukin 15 in Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis.
- Author
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Luzza F, Parrello T, Monteleone G, Sebkova L, Imeneo M, La Vecchia A, Maletta M, Docimo C, and Pallone F
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Female, Gastritis microbiology, Humans, Interleukin-15 genetics, Interleukin-15 metabolism, Male, Middle Aged, RNA, Messenger metabolism, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Gastritis immunology, Helicobacter Infections immunology, Helicobacter pylori immunology, Intestinal Mucosa immunology
- Abstract
Transcripts for interleukin (IL) 15 were detected in the gastric mucosal samples of 5/5 (100%) patients with no evidence of Helicobacter pylori infection and in 4/14 (28%) H. pylori-infected patients (P< 0.05). Both IL-15 mRNA and IL-15 protein were detected in 1/6 (17%) patients who successfully underwent H. pylori eradication therapy, before treatment and in 5/6 (83%) cases after eradication. Even though a parallel significant (P < 0.03) improvement of gastritis score occurred after eradication, the severity of gastritis did not differ according to the mucosal IL-15 expression among H. pylori-infected patients, irrespective of the CagA serology. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that transcripts for IL-15 are expressed in the human gastric mucosa. Changes occurring during H. pylori colonisation and after eradication raise the hypothesis that H. pylori may down-regulate IL-15 expression in the gastric mucosa.
- Published
- 1999
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