Effects of Helicobacter pylori infection on gastric parietal cells and E-cadherin in Mongolian gerbils.

Atrophic gastritis caused by infection with Helicobacter pylori is characterized by parietal cell loss, which is a main risk factor for gastric cancer. Parietal cells play a crucial role in the regulation of cell lineage maturation and proliferation in the gastric units. Among the classical cadherins, E-cadherin plays an important role not only in epithelial cell-cell connections, but also in the maintenance of epithelial polarity and gastric glandular architecture and regulation of cell proliferation.