Innate immunity - the hallmark of Helicobacter pylori infection in pediatric chronic gastritis.

Background: Innate immunity was found to be associated with both persistence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and increased risk of gastric cancer.
Aim: To identify the risk factors associated with H. pylori infection and to establish the role of TLR9 rs352140 in suppressing or promoting inflammation related to this infection in children.
Methods: We performed a study of 155 children with digestive symptoms, who were divided into two groups according to the histopathological exam: Group 1 - 48 children with H. pylori -induced chronic gastritis, and Group 2 - control group.
Results: Rural area and poor living conditions were significantly associated with H. pylori chronic gastritis ( P = 0.0042/ P < 0.0001). Both positive immunoglobulin A anti H. pylori and the rapid urease test were significantly associated with H. pylori infection ( P < 0.0001). Significantly higher values of leukocytes and neutrophils within the peripheral blood were found in children with H. pylori chronic gastritis ( P = 0.111/ P = 0.284). We found a significant positive correlation between the variant TT genotype of TLR9 rs352140 polymorphism and both leucocytes and neutrophils ( P = 0.0225/ P = 0.0292).
Conclusion: Variant TT genotype carriers of the TLR9 rs352140 gene polymorphism might have a more severe degree of inflammation.
Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
(©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)