The use of non-invasive stool tests for verification of Helicobacter pylori eradication and clarithromycin resistance.

Background: Clarithromycin resistance of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) represents a major challenge in eradication therapy. In this study, we assessed if non-invasive stool tests can be used to verify successful H.

Increased Prevalence of Autoimmune Gastritis in Patients with a Gastric Precancerous Lesion.

: Autoimmune gastritis (AIG), characterized with the presence of anti-parietal-cell antibodies (APCA), is a risk factor for gastric cancer. However, AIG may go underdiagnosed, especially in the case of infection and the presence of gastric precancerous lesions (GPL), due to the ambiguous pathology and delayed symptom onset. : Investigate the prevalence and characteristics of AIG in GPL patients.

Linitis plastica of the rectum secondary to prostate carcinoma.

Linitis plastica is an intramural carcinoma that may occur in any hollow organ. Rectal linitis plastica (RLP) is a morphological variant cancer that may occur as a primary form of cancer or secondary as a metastasis of a primary malignancy. We report the case of a man in his 70s with RLP secondary to prostate carcinoma who was initially suspected to have an obstructing rectal adenocarcinoma.

Constitutive programmed death ligand 1 expression protects gastric G-cells from Helicobacter pylori-induced inflammation.

Introduction: Gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM) is a premalignant lesion, highly associated with Helicobacter pylori infection. Previous studies have shown that H. pylori is able to induce the expression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), an inhibitory immune modulator, in gastric cells.

Toll-Like Receptor 1 Locus Re-examined in a Genome-Wide Association Study Update on Anti-Helicobacter pylori IgG Titers.

Background & Aims: A genome-wide significant association between anti-Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) IgG titers and Toll-like receptor (TLR1/6/10) locus on 4p14 was demonstrated for individuals of European ancestry, but not uniformly replicated. We re-investigated this association in an updated genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis for populations with low gastric cancer incidence, address potential causes of cohort heterogeneity, and explore functional implications of genetic variation at the TLR1/6/10 locus.

Methods: The dichotomous GWAS (25% individuals exhibiting highest anti-H pylori IgG titers vs remaining 75%) included discovery and replication sampls of, respectively, n = 15,685 and n = 9676, all of European ancestry.

Platelet-dependent signaling and Low Molecular Weight Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase expression promote aggressive phenotypic changes in gastrointestinal cancer cells.

Over the last decades, some members of the protein tyrosine phosphatase family have emerged as cancer promoters. Among them, the Low Molecular Weight Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase (LMWPTP) has been described to be associated with colorectal cancer liver metastasis and poor prostate cancer prognosis. Of importance in the process of cancer progression and metastasis is the interaction between tumor cells and platelets, as the latter are thought to promote several tumor hallmarks.

Accuracy of upper endoscopies with random biopsies to identify patients with gastric premalignant lesions who can safely be exempt from surveillance.

Introduction: Guidelines recommend endoscopy with biopsies to stratify patients with gastric premalignant lesions (GPL) to high and low progression risk. High-risk patients are recommended to undergo surveillance. We aimed to assess the accuracy of guideline recommendations to identify low-risk patients, who can safely be discharged from surveillance.

Genetic host factors in Helicobacter pylori-induced carcinogenesis: Emerging new paradigms.

Helicobacter Pylori is a gram negative rod shaped microaerophilic bacterium that colonizes the stomach of approximately half the world's population. Infection with c may cause chronic gastritis which via a quite well described process known as Correas cascade can progress through sequential development of atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia to gastric cancer. H.

Analysis of Hepatitis C Virus Particle Heterogeneity in Immunodeficient Human Liver Chimeric Mice.

Background & Aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of chronic liver diseases and the most common indication for liver transplantation in the United States. HCV particles in the blood of infected patients are characterized by heterogeneous buoyant densities, likely owing to HCV association with lipoproteins. However, clinical isolates are not infectious in vitro and the relative infectivity of the particles with respect to their buoyant density therefore cannot be determined, pointing to the need for better in vivo model systems.

Humanized mice efficiently engrafted with fetal hepatoblasts and syngeneic immune cells develop human monocytes and NK cells.

Background & Aims: Human liver chimeric mice are useful models of human hepatitis virus infection, including hepatitis B and C virus infections. Independently, immunodeficient mice reconstituted with CD34(+) hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) derived from fetal liver reliably develop human T and B lymphocytes. Combining these systems has long been hampered by inefficient liver reconstitution of human fetal hepatoblasts.

Broadly neutralizing antibodies abrogate established hepatitis C virus infection.

In most exposed individuals, hepatitis C virus (HCV) establishes a chronic infection; this long-term infection in turn contributes to the development of liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The role of antibodies directed against HCV in disease progression is poorly understood. Neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) can prevent HCV infection in vitro and in animal models.