title: Increased gastric epithelial cell proliferation in Helicobacter pylori associated follicular gastritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  An increase in the proliferative state of the gastric epithelium has been attributed to infection with Helicobacter pylori. In order to obtain a more precise estimate of the magnitude of this change, the proliferative state of 17 cases of florid H pylori associated follicular gastritis was examined using the antibody MIB-1.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comparable results were produced from control and gastritis cases by using a combination of two reproducible measures of the labelled cells. Dividing cells in the gastric mucosa are concentrated within a proliferating compartment, situated at the base of the crypts. This compartment was measured and expressed as a proportion of the total crypt length. The proportion of positively labelled cells within the compartment was also counted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proliferation compartment in the gastritis cases occupied 45.6% of the gastric crypt compared with 15.4% in the control group. Of the cells in the proliferating compartment, 79.5% were positively labelled in the gastritis cases and 33.4% in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The convoluted nature of the gastric crypt does not make it a forgiving experimental model. The use of long lengths of mucosa obtained from gastrectomy specimens permitted the production of consistent results, using a morphometric method. The greater than 100% difference in the proportion of proliferating cells between the two groups suggests that further investigation is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Southampton General Hospital.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Havard
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sarsfield
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Wotherspoon
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Steer
mesh_terms: D002455:Cell Division; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D005756:Gastritis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000473:pathology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans