Background: Atrophic gastritis is more common in Japan than in Germany. The expression of anti-parietal cell antibody has been implicated in the genesis of atrophic gastritis associated with Helicobacter pylori infection.
Objective: We investigated the difference in serum levels of pepsinogens and in anti-parietal cell antibody expression between Japanese and German patients.
Methods: We recruited 102 Japanese and 46 German patients with dyspepsia. Endoscopic examination detected no localized lesions in the upper gastrointestinal tract of any patients. Anti-parietal cell antibody was investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with the purified porcine H+,K+-ATPase fraction and immunohistochemistry. H. pylori infection was diagnosed by the presence of anti-H. pylori antibody, by using the urease test and by histological examination. Serum levels of pepsinogen I and II and of gastrin were measured by a modified radioimmunoassay.
Results: Seventy-one Japanese (70%) and 17 Germans (37%) were positive for H. pylori. Serum levels of anti-parietal cell antibody were not significantly different between Japanese and Germans in both H. pylori negative and positive groups. The serum pepsinogen I/II ratio and gastrin levels were altered by H. pylori infection in both populations. Moreover, anti-parietal cell antibody levels were higher in H. pylori-positive patients with low pepsinogen levels than in those with high pepsinogen levels in both populations.
Conclusions: The levels of anti-parietal cell antibody do not differ statistically between Japanese and Germans. Anti-parietal cell antibody might play a role in the progression of atrophic gastritis in both Japanese and German patients.