A new strategy for evaluation of the eradication treatment of Helicobacterpylori: validation of the analysis of mucin composition in human gastric juice

The change in the mucin composition of human gastric juice has been investi gated in patients before and after the eradication of the Helicobacter pylo ri (H. pylori) infection. We confirmed the successful eradication of H. pyl ori in all 17 patients. The gastric luminal mucins were divided into three fractions by ion-exchange chromatography using a discontinuous salt gradien t with three salt steps. Although there was a significant variation in the proportion of the mucin content in each fraction among the individual patie nts, a decrease in the acidic mucin content after the eradication of H. pyl ori, was commonly observed in all the patients. These results indicate that the mucin compositional analysis in the gastric luminal mucin may be a ver y useful tool for the assessment of H. pylori eradication. (C) 2001 Elsevie r Science B.V. All rights reserved.