SPECTROTYPIC ANALYSIS OF ANTIBODIES TO HELICOBACTER-PYLORI IN PATIENTS WITH ANTRAL GASTRITIS AND DUODENAL-ULCER

Aims-To investigate the anti Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) spectrotyp e associated with (a) antral gastritis and duodenal ulcer; (b) the H p ylori eradicating treatment. Methods-Spectrotypic analysis was perform ed by isoelectric focusing and reverse blotting (IEFRB) in a cross sec tional study on sera from 70 patients with antral gastritis and duoden al ulcer. In addition, a longitudinal study was performed on 40 of the se patients (20 with antral gastritis and 20 with duodenal ulcer) who underwent eradicating treatment. Results-The cross sectional study sho wed that the oligoclonal spectrotype was present in 74% of antral gast ritis patients and in 85% of duodenal ulcer patients. In only a minori ty of subjects (23% with antral gastritis and 3% with duodenal ulcer) was a polyclonal spectrotype observed. The longitudinal study showed a reduction in the intensity of the spectrotypic bands in 5/10 antral g astritis patients with eradicated H pylori as opposed to only 2/10 pat ients without eradication. A reduction was also observed in 6/11 eradi cated upsilon 0/9 non-eradicated patients with duodenal ulcer. Collect ively, a reduction in the spectrotype was observed in 11/21 patients ( 52%) who-independently of the disease-underwent H pylori eradication, as opposed to 2/19 of the non-responder patients (10.5%). The polyclon al spectrotype was found exclusively in four patients with antral gast ritis, all belonging to the group without eradication of H pylori afte r eradicating treatment. Conclusions-The anti H pylori oligoclonal spe ctrotype is the most common pattern observed in patients with antral g astritis and duodenal ulcer. After H pylori eradicating treatment the spectrotype does not change qualitatively, but the polyclonal pattern seems to be predictive of a poor response to eradication.