1H NMR-based metabolomics analyses in children with Helicobacter pylori infection and the alteration of serum metabolites after treatment.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection can occur in early childhood, without eradication therapies such infection can persist throughout life and cause many different diseases. This study investigated the metabolic characteristics and explored the underlying mechanism of children with H. pylori infection, and identified potential biomarkers for evaluating the efficacy of H. pylori eradication therapies. METHODS: We performed 1H NMR-based metabonomics coupled with multivariate analysis to investigate the metabolic profiling of serum samples between Children with and without H. pylori infection. In the same manner, we compared the alternations of metabolites in H. pylori-infected children before and after H. pylori eradication therapies. RESULTS: 21 metabolites from serum in H. pylori-infected and H. pylori-uninfected children were identified, which were mainly involved in energy, amino acid, lipid and microbial metabolism. We found that the serum levels of trimethylamine N-oxide and alanine were significantly higher in H. pylori-infected children compared to uninfected sera, whereas lactate was significantly lower. We also found that the levels of trimethylamine N-oxide and creatine in H. pylori-infected children was significantly decreased after H. pylori eradication therapies, whereas lactate and low-density lipoprotein/very low-density lipoprotein was significantly increased. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study using 1H NMR-based metabolomics approach to explore the effects of H. pylori infection in children. Our results demonstrated that the disturbances of metabolism in energy, amino acids, lipids and microbiota could play an important role in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal and extragastric diseases caused by H. pylori infection. Trimethylamine N-oxide and lactate might serve as potential serum biomarkers for evaluating the efficacy of H. pylori eradication therapies.

[Relationship between electrogastrogram and gastric emptying in children with functional dyspepsia].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlations between electrogastrogram (EGG) and gastric emptying (GE) in children with functional dyspepsia (FD). METHODS: A total of 51 children with FD and 25 healthy children as control were enrolled into this study. Polygraph ID 4-channel EGG analysis system was used for EGG recording and gastric emptying of solids was studied by using a standardized egg meal labeled with (99m)Technetium sulfur colloid for each subject. RESULTS: (1) Compared with the control group, the percentage of normal slow wave (N%) in the FD group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P < 0.01). Children with FD had higher rates of abnormal EGG, in which 32 cases showed mixed dysrhythmia preprandial and postprandial recordings (62.7%). (2) The two groups had significant difference in ratio of the percentage of preprandial dominant power (DP) to postprandial DP (P < 0.05), it showed that the postprandial DP of the FD group did not increase. (3) The postprandial dominant power instability coefficient (DPIC) as well as preprandial DPIC and dominant frequency instability coefficient (DFIC) in the FD group were increased. The coupling of the slow wave of preprandial and postprandial EGG in the FD group (26.95 +/- 13.69, 26.93 +/- 12.63 respectively) significantly decreased as compared with those in the control group (69.02 +/- 5.15, 70.18 +/- 4.68, P < 0.01). (4) The rate of delayed gastric emptying in the FD group was 23.5%. The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that there was a significant negative correlation between the delayed gastric emptying and the coupling of the slow wave (partial regression coefficient = -0.513, -0.296 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with FD had more abnormal findings in EGG than the control group did, and there was a significant negative correlation between the delayed gastric emptying and the coupled response of the slow wave. The abnormal gastric electrical activity may have certain significance in pathogenesis of FD.