title: Relationship of TT virus and Helicobacter pylori infections in gastric tissues of patients with gastritis.
abstract: Blood and gastric tissue biopsies of 34 patients with gastritis were tested for the presence of TT virus (TTV), a ubiquitous virus found in the blood of most humans. Thirty-one of these patients were TTV positive, and 27 patients had virus in both tissues. In addition, 13 of the patients who had TTV in gastric tissue were Helicobacter pylori positive. There was an association of higher TTV titers in gastric tissues of patients who were H. pylori positive than in those in whom the bacterium could not be detected. Furthermore, this association was stronger in H. pylori-positive patients with the presence of the cagA protein. Of 10 specimens in which genogroup determination was carried out in the gastric corpus, 5/5 that were H. pylori positive showed the presence of TTV genogroup 3, while for those that were H. pylori negative, 5/5 showed the presence of genogroup 1t. By contrast, genogroup 1 was found in the corpus of only one H. pylori-positive patient, and genogroup 3 in only one H. pylori-negative patient. The histological severity of gastritis did correlate significantly with loads in the gastric tissues. There was no significant difference in TTV titer in blood of patients regardless of H. pylori infection status. These findings pique interest in clarifying the role of TTV, alone or in association with H. pylori infection, in the pathogenesis of gastritis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Pathology, Virology Section and Retrovirus Center, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maggi
authors.forename: Santino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marchi
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fornai
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tempestini
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Andreoli
authors.forename: Letizia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lanini
authors.forename: Maria Linda
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Vatteroni
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bellini
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: De Bortoli
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pistello
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Specter
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bendinelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004266:DNA Virus Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005756:Gastritis / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000821:virology*; D005838:Genotype; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013270:Stomach / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D022783:Torque teno virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D019562:Viral Load