Mucosal Immunity Related to CD8+ T Lymphocytes in Children with Helicobacter pylori Gastritis

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Purpose: We investigated the role of CD8 + T cells as host immune factors in pediatric patients with Helicobacter pylori gastritis.Methods: Gastric mucosal tissue and blood samples were collected from 39 children, including 11 children with H. pylori infection and 28 children as controls.Anti-CD8 and anti-T-bet antibodies were used for immunohistochemistry of the gastric mucosa.For the cell surface and intracellular staining, peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stained with anti-IL7Rα, anti-CX3CR1, anti-CD8, anti-T-bet, and anti-IFN-γ antibodies.Cytokines of sera such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and CX3CL1 were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results: In the immunohistochemistry of gastric mucosa, the frequency of CD8 + and T-bet + T cells cells was higher in the H. pylori-positive group than in the control group (26.9± 7.8% vs. 16.9±3.3%,p<0.001; 5.0±2.5% vs. 2.2±0.7%,p=0.001).Between the control and H. pylori-positive groups, the frequency of IL-7Rα low CX3CR1 + CD8 + and T-bet + INF-γ + CD8 + T cells were not significantly different between surface and intracellular staining, respectively (40.4±24.0%vs. 38.2±17.8%,p=0.914; 40.4±24.0%vs. 38.2±17.8%,p=0.914).In the ELISA, no significant differences in TNF-α and CX3CL1 concentrations were observed between the control and H. pylori-positive groups (34.3±12.1 pg/mL vs. 47.0±22.6 pg/mL, p=0.114/0.5±0.1 pg/mL vs. 0.5±0.1 pg/mL, p=0.188).Conclusion: CD8 + T and Th1 cells, which secrete IFN-γ, might play important roles in the mucosal immunity of the stomach in children with H. pylori infection.