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World J Gastroenterol. Jan 21, 2014; 20(3): 639-646
Published online Jan 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i3.639
Impairment of ghrelin synthesis in Helicobacter pylori-colonized stomach: New clues for the pathogenesis of H. pylori-related gastric inflammation
Omero Alessandro Paoluzi, Del Vecchio Giovanna Blanco, Roberta Caruso, Ivan Monteleone, Giovanni Monteleone, Francesco Pallone
Omero Alessandro Paoluzi, Roberta Caruso, Ivan Monteleone, Giovanni Monteleone, Francesco Pallone, Giovanna Del Vecchio Blanco, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, 00133 Rome, Italy
Author contributions: Paoluzi OA and Del Vecchio Blanco G contributed equally to this work; all authors contributed to the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Dr. Omero Alessandro Paoluzi, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Viale Oxford 81, 00133 Roma, Italy. omeroalessandro.paoluzi@ptvonline.it
Telephone: +39-6-20900969 Fax: +39-6-20903738
Received: October 4, 2013
Revised: November 14, 2013
Accepted: December 5, 2013
Published online: January 21, 2014
Processing time: 137 Days and 21.1 Hours
Abstract

Ghrelin, the ligand of growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a, takes part in several functions of the digestive system, including regulation of appetite, energy homeostasis, gastric acid secretion and motility. Ghrelin has also immunoregulatory properties and is supposed to inhibit some inflammatory pathways that can mediate gastric damage. Interestingly, ghrelin synthesis is reduced in the gastric mucosa of patients with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, a worldwide condition inducing a T helper (Th)1/Th17 cell response-driven gastritis, which may evolve towards gastric atrophy and cancer. In this article, we review the available data on the expression of ghrelin in H. pylori infection and discuss how the defective ghrelin synthesis may contribute to sustain the ongoing inflammatory response in this disease.

Keywords: Gastritis; Ghrelin; Helicobacter pylori; T helper 1 cells

Core tip: The review reports current statements about relationship between gastric ghrelin expression and Helicobacter pylori infection. Data present in the literature and emerging from a very recent our study on the anti-inflammatory role of ghrelin and T helper 1 cell response in the stomach during Helicobacter pylori infection are included.