Nitric oxide synthetase and Helicobacter pylori in patients undergoing appendicectomy.
Affiliation
University Department of Surgery, Cork University Hospital, Wilton, Ireland.Issue Date
2012-02-03T15:13:14ZMeSH
AdolescentAdult
*Appendectomy
Appendicitis/*enzymology/microbiology
Child
Emergencies
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Helicobacter Infections/complications/*enzymology
*Helicobacter pylori
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Macrophages/enzymology
Middle Aged
Nitric Oxide Synthase/*metabolism
Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Br J Surg. 1999 Dec;86(12):1538X-1542.Journal
The British journal of surgeryDOI
10.1046/j.1365-2168.1999.01268.xPubMed ID
10594502Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study was designed to determine whether Helicobacter pylori forms part of the normal microenvironment of the appendix, whether it plays a role in the pathogenesis of acute appendicitis, and whether it is associated with increased expression of inducible nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS) in appendicular macrophages. METHODS: Serology for H. pylori was performed on 51 consecutive patients undergoing emergency appendicectomy. Appendix samples were tested for urease activity, cultured and stained for H. pylori, graded according to the degree of inflammatory infiltrate, and probed immunohistochemically for iNOS expression. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 21 (range 7-51) years. Seventeen patients (33 per cent) were seropositive for H. pylori but no evidence of H. pylori was found in any appendix specimen. However, an enhanced inflammatory cell infiltration was observed in seropositive patients (P < 0.04) and the expression of macrophage iNOS in the mucosa of normal and inflamed appendix specimens was increased (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: H. pylori does not colonize the appendix and is unlikely to be a pathogenic stimulus for appendicitis. Priming effects on mucosal immunology downstream from the foregut may occur after infection with H. pylori.Language
engISSN
0007-1323 (Print)0007-1323 (Linking)
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1046/j.1365-2168.1999.01268.x