TY - JOUR T1 - Gastric T lymphocyte responses to Helicobacter pylori in patients with H pylori colonisation. JF - Gut JO - Gut SP - 1379 LP - 1384 DO - 10.1136/gut.35.10.1379 VL - 35 IS - 10 AU - X J Fan AU - A Chua AU - C N Shahi AU - J McDevitt AU - P W Keeling AU - D Kelleher Y1 - 1994/10/01 UR - http://gut.bmj.com/content/35/10/1379.abstract N2 - Helicobacter pylori has been identified as a dominant factor in the pathogenesis of duodenal ulcer. The aim of this study was to examine peripheral blood and gastric lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine production in patients with H pylori colonisation. Sixty five dyspeptic patients attending for endoscopy were studied; 35 of these were H pylori positive and 30 H pylori negative as assessed by culture, histology, and rapid urease test. H pylori antigen was capable of stimulating peripheral blood lymphocyte proliferative responses even in H pylori negative patients. Peripheral blood lymphocyte proliferative responses to H pylori (but not to purified protein derivative or phythaemagglutinin) were significantly lower in H pylori positive than H pylori negative patients. Similarly, antigen specific proliferative responses and interferon gamma production by gastric lamina propria lymphocytes were also depressed in H pylori positive patients compared with H pylori negative patients. CD8 and CD22 positive lamina propria lymphocytes were increased in H pylori positive patients. These data show that antigen specific responses to H pylori are significantly lower in H pylori positive patients and could indicate activation of antigen specific suppression. ER -