[Helicobacter pylori, a rediscovered bacterium. Implication in gastroduodenal diseases]

Helicobacter pylori is a microaerophilic bacterium initially found in the gastric antrum of patients with peptic ulcer disease. As a result, H. pylori is now believed to have a pathophysiologic role in gastritis as well as in peptic ulcer disease. Several recent studies showed that it may be associated with duodenal ulcer relapse and that eradication therapy using antibiotics may significantly decrease the ulcer recurrence rate in duodenal ulcer patients. Moreover, epidemiological studies suggest that it may increase the relative risk of carcinoma in the stomach and preliminary studies seem to indicate that some low-grade lymphoma in the stomach may regress after H. pylori eradication. Although the mechanisms by which H. pylori induces mucosal injury and/or neoplasm is not clearly understood, several modifications in gastric functions have been reported. The most specific way of detecting H. pylori in tissue is a combination of culture and histologic staining of mucosal biopsy specimens obtained by endoscopy. Rapid urease test, cytology and PCR procedures performed on biopsies may give rapid, sensitive and specific results. Breath test using 13C- or 14C-radiolabelled urea and serology tests are of particular importance when H. pylori diagnosis is needed via no invasive procedures. Helicobacter pylori is supposed to interact with G and D cells. Gastrin and somatostatin are synthetized and released from antral G and gastric D cells respectively. The gastric D cells are in close contact with either G and parietal cells. Gastrin stimulates gastric acid secretion and epithelial gastric cell proliferation (parietal and EC-L cells) while somatostatin inhibits these effects. Chronic gastritis is associated with fundic duodenal ulcer disease. In this situation, basal gastrin and meal- or bombesin-stimulated gastrin in the serum (especially gastrin G17) have been found to be higher in H. pylori positive than in negative patients. Moreover, gastrin decreases up to normal levels after eradication of H. pylori. The long term effect of a such hypergastrinemia is not so far established. The mechanism underlaying hormonal modification is poorly understood. Since no G/D cell ratio modification could be found after H. pylori eradication while the amount of somatostatin increases, one would suggest functional alteration of either G or D cells in the H. pylori-related chronic gastritis. The role of inflammatory mediators on the gastrin release and the processing of progastrin induced by the bacterium need further investigations.