Abstract:
H. pylori elicits specific humoral and cellularimmune responsesin themucosalimmune system.However,
the type and extent of T lymphocyte response in the systemic immune system is not clear for H. pylori
positive patients. In this study, peripheral blood T lymphocyte phenotypes and serum Th1/Th2 based
cytokines of 32 H. pylori positive patients were analyzed and compared to those of healthy controls.
While αβ TCR+ lymphocytes and their phenotype analysis were not significantly different to those of
healthy controls, the percentage of pan γδ TCR+ lymphocytes was up to 2.4 times greater in the H. pylori
positive group then in healthy controls. Furthermore, significant increases in IL-10 concentrations in
serum samples of H. pylori patients indicated that their immune systems had switched toward a Th2
type immune response. The correlation between phenotype and type of T cell response in the peripheral
blood during H. pylori infection is discussed.
