ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the influence of cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA)to the differentiation of helper T lymphocytes in chronic gastritis. Methods Eighty patients with chronic gastritis were included in this study. The serum antibody against CagA was detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Patients were divided into CagA-positive group and CagA-negative group according to the results of ELISA. Pathologic changes in gastric mucus were respectively analyzed. In addition, the expressions of nuclear transcription factors in gastric mucus including TBX 21, GATA-3, FoxP3 and Rorγt were detected by PCR and Western blot assay. Results There were 52 patients in CagA-positive group and 28 patients in CagA-negative group. The gastric inflammation was more serious in CagA-positive group than that in CagA-snegative group. There was no significant difference in Hp density between two groups. The expressions of GATA-3 and FoxP3 were much higher, while the transcription and protein expression levels of TBX21 and Rorγt were significantly lower in CagA-positive group than those in CagA-negative group. Conclusion Although the inflammation in gastric mucus was more serious in CagA-positive patients, Hp can not be effectively eliminated,which may relate to the differentiation of Th0 into Th2/Treg cells.