Antibody to heat shock protein can be used for early serological monitoring of Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment

Infection with Helicobacter pylori induces humoral immune responses against various antigens of the bacterium. Heat shock proteins (hsps) are immunodo minant antigens in various diseases including H. pylori infection. In the p resent study, we measured the anti-hsp antibody titers in 42 patients with H. pylori-infected peptic ulcers during a bacterial eradication study. The patients were treated with a proton pump inhibitor and antimicrobial agents to eradicate the organism. Their sera were obtained at pretreatment and at 1 month and 6 months after the eradication therapy. The titers of immunogl obulin G antibodies to the H. pylori hsp, whole-cell lysate, and urease (30 -kDa subunit) antigens in serum were measured by a capture enzyme-linked im munosorbent assay. The levels of H. pylori hsp60 antibodies in sera collect ed 1 month after treatment had declined significantly, even when changes in the titers of antibodies to whole-cell and urease antigens were not appare nt. These results suggest that measurement of antibodies to H. pylori hsp60 in serum is useful far the early monitoring of the effectiveness of eradic ation therapy.