Morphological evidence of Campylobacter pylori pathogenicity in chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer

Campylobacter pylori (CP) were found in 84% of 384 patients with chronic gastritis and in none of 49 subjects without inflammation. CP were present in similar percentages among patients with active (90%) or healed peptic ulcer (84%), as well as in non-ulcerous dyspepsia complicated by gastritis (91%). Cytoplasmic vacuolization and swelling of foveolar-superficial cells with adhering bacteria, micropapillae and microerosions were commonly found in CP-infected mucosa. In 100 cases with gastritis both intraepithelial granulocytes and epithelial lesions were prominent features of heavily CP-infected antral mucosa. The occurrence of some cases with abundant, adhering CP but lacking epithelial lesions is in keeping with the different ability of various CP-strains to produce cytotoxins. In 16 of 19 children with type B chronic gastritis antibacterial therapy eradicated CP. This was followed by resolution or striking improvement of gastritis and disappearance of epithelial lesions. These data provide further morphological evidence of direct cytotoxic activity of CP toward gastric mucosal cells.