The authors declare no conflict of interest. “
“Background and Aims:  To assess the validity of biopsy-based tests (histology, culture, and urease test) and serology in detecting current H. pylori infection for the peptic ulcer patients who had gastric bleeding. Methods:  A total of 398 peptic ulcer patients were enrolled and divided into two groups, according to the presence or absence of bleeding. The diagnosis for

current H. pylori infection was verified using the gold standard combining individual H. pylori tests. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the culture, Campylobacter-like organism (CLO) test (urease test), histology, and serology were compared. Results:  Of the total study population (N = 398), 157 (39.4%) patients were categorized into the bleeding group. The sensitivities of the culture (40.0%) and CLO (85.0%) in the bleeding group were significantly lower

Cilomilast chemical structure than culture (58.1%) and CLO (96.4%) in the nonbleeding group (p = .012 and p < .001, respectively). In the bleeding group, the sensitivity of CLO (85.0%) was significantly lower than histology (92.5%) and serology (97.4%) (p = .013 and p = .002, respectively), which was not found in the nonbleeding group. The specificity of serology in the bleeding group (56.3%) was significantly lower than that of nonbleeding group (74.2%) (p = .038). Similarly, the specificity of serology was significantly BMS-907351 order lower than the other H. pylori tests in the bleeders. Conclusions:  Bleeding decreased the sensitivity of H. pylori

tests in patients with peptic ulcer, especially in urease test or culture. In contrast, histology was found to be a quite reliable test, regardless of the presence of bleeding. “
“Background:  Mongolian gerbils that are experimentally infected with Helicobacter pylori develop a chronic inflammation that is similar to natural infections in humans. The aim of this study was to compare the antigens VAV2 of H. pylori cagPAI+ and cagPAI− strains that are expressed during Meriones unguiculatus colonization. Materials and Methods:  We identified H. pylori cagPAI+ and cagPAI− strain antigens via Western blotting of samples from Mongolian gerbils that were subjected to unique, mixed, and sequential bacterial infections. Results:  The antigens from the J99/CG3 (cagPAI+) strain had a lower molecular weight than the antigens from the 251F/CG3 (cagPAI−) strain. There were fewer identified antigens in the single unique infections compared with the mixed and sequential infections. The number of recognized antigens that had a frequency of recognition >60% was higher for the simultaneous and sequential infection groups compared with the single infection group. A 57-kDa antigen was present in >60% of the samples and four of the five experimental groups.