title: Helicobacter pylori antigen and its IgG, IgA -type specific immunocomplexes in sera from patients with Helicobacter pylori infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the characteristics of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) antigen in serum and to evaluate its clinical diagnostic value.
  
  
  METHODS
  Enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) was developed to detect the soluble H. pylori antigen (S-Hp) and circulatory specific H. pylori antigen immunocomplexes (Hp-IC) in serum.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The positive rate of S-Hp was 90.91% from 66 patients with H. pylori infection, which was much greater than 0% found in 28 controls (P < 0.001). Moreover, its concentration closely reflected the number of H. pylori in the gastric mucosa layer. We also found that Hp-IC existed bound with IgG and/or IgA in patients with positive S-Hp. However, there is no evidence to show the concentration of S-Hp reduced significantly in followed-up subjects after effective therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These methods as newly and noninvasive complementary tools can be used for clinical diagnosis of H. pylori infection. In addition, S-Hp and Hp-IC may be of importance in H. pylori pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, China. Z3566@sohu.com
authors.forename: Yongliang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Da
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Keda
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Qindong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex / Q000097:blood*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G