Synergistic Effect of Helicobacter pylori Virulence Factors and Interleukin-1 Polymorphisms for the Development of Severe Histological Changes in the Gastric Mucosa

Polymorphisms of the IL-1βand IL-1RNgenes (which encode interleukin [IL]-1β and IL-1 receptor antagonist, respectively) have been associated with hypochlorhydria and gastric cancer. We investigated the influence of bacterial virulence factors and host IL-1 polymorphisms on the development of histologic abnormalities in 210 Helicobacter pylori-infected patients with chronic gastritis. cagA+/vacAs1+ H. pylori strains were associated with intestinal metaplasia (IM), atrophic gastritis (AG), and severe inflammation. Carriers of the proinflammatory IL-1β −511T/−31C and IL-RN*2 alleles had an increased risk for the development of AG, IM, and severe inflammation, with odds ratios (ORs) of 1.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8–3.4) to 4.4 (95% CI, 1.5–12.9). The highest prevalence of severe gastric abnormalities was found in patients with both host and bacterial high-risk genotypes (cagA+/vacAs1+/IL-1β − 511T/IL-1RN*2), with ORs of 24.8 (95% CI, 5.2–117.3) for severe lymph°Cytic infiltration, 9.5 (95% CI, 2.8–32.1) for severe granul°Cytic infiltration, 6.0 (95% CI, 2.4–15.5) for IM, and 2.4 (95% CI, 0.93–6.2) for AG. Combined bacterial/host genotyping thus may provide a clinical tool to identify patients at high risk of developing cancer.