Antibody response of patients with Helicobacter pylori-related gastric adenocarcinoma: significance of anti-cagA antibodies

Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 2000 May;7(3):463-7. doi: 10.1128/CDLI.7.3.463-467.2000.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to search for a specific antibody pattern in sera from patients suffering from Helicobacter pylori-related gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC). The serological response of 22 patients suffering from GAC, 31 patients with gastroduodenal ulcer, and 39 asymptomatic subjects was analyzed using immunoblotting performed with three H. pylori strains: strain ATCC 43579; strain B110, isolated from a patient with ulcers; and strain B225, isolated from a patient with GAC. In addition, the latex agglutination test Pyloriset Dry was used to analyze ambiguous sera. H. pylori seropositivity was 75% in the GAC group, 61.3% in the ulcer group, and 56.4% in the asymptomatic group. Anti-CagA antibodies were found more often in the GAC group (48.8%) and in the ulcer group (47.3%) than in the asymptomatic group (21.2%). These percentages depended on the strain used as an antigen: in the GAC group, the anti-CagA frequencies were 93.3, 40, and 13.3% with strains B225, B110, and ATCC 43579, respectively. Thus the presence of anti-CagA antibodies was increased in patients suffering from H. pylori-related GAC, in particular when the CagA antigen was from a GAC strain. These data suggest the existence of a CagA protein specifically expressed by H. pylori strains isolated from GAC patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / immunology*
  • Adenocarcinoma / microbiology
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / blood
  • Antigens, Bacterial*
  • Bacterial Proteins / immunology*
  • Duodenal Ulcer / immunology
  • Duodenal Ulcer / microbiology
  • Female
  • Helicobacter Infections / complications
  • Helicobacter Infections / immunology*
  • Helicobacter pylori / immunology*
  • Humans
  • Immunoblotting
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Serologic Tests
  • Stomach Neoplasms / immunology*
  • Stomach Neoplasms / microbiology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Antigens, Bacterial
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • cagA protein, Helicobacter pylori