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World J Gastroenterol. Feb 14, 2014; 20(6): 1510-1516
Published online Feb 14, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i6.1510
Helicobacter pylori and skin autoimmune diseases
Eli Magen, Jorge-Shmuel Delgado
Eli Magen, Allergy and Clinical Immunology Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of The Negev, Ashkelon 77456, Israel
Eli Magen, Jorge-Shmuel Delgado, Barzilai Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of The Negev, Ashkelon 77456, Israel
Jorge-Shmuel Delgado, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of The Negev, Ashkelon 77456, Israel
Author contributions: Magen E wrote the paper; Delgado JS revised it critically for important intellectual content; both authors have contributed to final approval of the version to be published.
Correspondence to: Eli Magen, MD, Allergy and Clinical Immunology Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of The Negev, Zionut 21, Ashkelon 77456, Israel. allergologycom@gmail.com
Telephone: +972-8-6745710 Fax: +972-8-6745712
Received: September 30, 2013
Revised: December 14, 2013
Accepted: January 6, 2014
Published online: February 14, 2014
Processing time: 148 Days and 22.8 Hours
Abstract

Autoimmune skin diseases are characterized by dysregulation of the immune system resulting in a loss of tolerance to skin self-antigen(s). The prolonged interaction between the bacterium and host immune mechanisms makes Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) a plausible infectious agent for triggering autoimmunity. Epidemiological and experimental data now point to a strong relation of H. pylori infection on the development of many extragastric diseases, including several allergic and autoimmune diseases. H. pylori antigens activate cross-reactive T cells and induce autoantibodies production. Microbial heat shock proteins (HSP) play an important role of in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases because of the high level of sequence homology with human HSP. Eradication of H. pylori infection has been shown to be effective in some patients with chronic autoimmune urticaria, psoriasis, alopecia areata and Schoenlein-Henoch purpura. There is conflicting and controversial data regarding the association of H. pylori infection with Behçet’s disease, scleroderma and autoimmune bullous diseases. No data are available evaluating the association of H. pylori infection with other skin autoimmune diseases, such as vitiligo, cutaneous lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis. The epidemiological and experimental evidence for a possible role of H. pylori infection in skin autoimmune diseases are the subject of this review.

Keywords: Autoimmune; Skin; Helicobacter pylori; Infection

Core tip: Epidemiological and experimental data now point to a strong relation of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection on the development of many autoimmune diseases. Eradication of H. pylori infection was shown to be effective in some patients with chronic autoimmune urticaria, psoriasis, alopecia areata and Schoenlein-Henoch purpura. There is conflicting and controversial data regarding the association of H. pylori infection with Behçet’s disease, scleroderma and autoimmune bullous diseases. No data are available evaluating the association of H. pylori infection with vitiligo, cutaneous lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis. A possible role of H. pylori infection in skin autoimmune diseases is the subject of this review.