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World J Methodol. Jul 20, 2021; 11(4): 199-207
Published online Jul 20, 2021. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v11.i4.199
Isolation of lymphocytes from the human gastric mucosa
Masaya Iwamuro, Takahide Takahashi, Natsuki Watanabe, Hiroyuki Okada
Masaya Iwamuro, Hiroyuki Okada, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 700-8558, Japan
Takahide Takahashi, Natsuki Watanabe, Division of Medical Support, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama 700-8558, Japan
Author contributions: Iwamuro M organized the report and drafted the article; Takahashi T and Watanabe N critically revised the article for important intellectual content; Okada H approved the final article.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest associated with this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Masaya Iwamuro, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-Ku, Okayama 700-8558, Japan. iwamuromasaya@yahoo.co.jp
Received: December 31, 2020
Peer-review started: December 31, 2020
First decision: April 6, 2021
Revised: April 9, 2021
Accepted: July 9, 2021
Article in press: July 9, 2021
Published online: July 20, 2021
Abstract

Flow cytometry is widely used for lymphocyte immunophenotyping in clinical settings. However, few studies have applied it for analyzing lymphocytes of the gastric mucosa. This review offers an overview of methodologies for isolating lymphocytes from the human stomach. Previously reported articles were reviewed, focusing on procedures for isolating human gastric mucosal lymphocytes. Helicobacter pylori-associated peptic diseases and gastric cancer are two major subjects of research in this field. Enzymatic dissociation, mechanical dissociation, or a combination of the two have been used to isolate lymphocytes from the stomach. Intra-epithelial and lamina propria lymphocytes were separately isolated in several studies. We also summarize the history and present trends in analyzing lymphocytes in patients with gastric disease.

Keywords: Gastrointestinal biopsies, Gastrointestinal endoscopy, Gastric cancers, Helicobacter pylori, Gastric ulcer, Flow cytometry

Core Tip: This review provides an overview of methodologies used to analyze lymphocytes in the stomach. Helicobacter pylori-associated peptic diseases and gastric cancer are two major subjects of research in this field. Previously reported articles were reviewed, focusing on procedures for isolating human gastric mucosal lymphocytes. The history and present trends in analyzing lymphocytes in patients with gastric disease are also summarized.